Restoring Soil: How technology Is Helping Kenyan Farmers Re-green Land

By Moraa Nyangorora

A locally driven innovation is changing the farming landscape in arid and semi arid areas prone to soil degradation. The mobile app developed by Kenyan environmental technologists and community groups is helping farmers map degraded land, track seedlings survival and connect with restoration partners.

This comes against a backdrop of a Heinrich Boll Foundation report that indicates only 20 pc of Kenya's crop land is suitable for food production under the current soil health conditions.

Kenya loses 26 tons per hectare of soil per year through soil erosion according to the report .

"Soil is the foundation of life, yet it is one of the most overlooked and undervalued resources. Its health influences the food we eat,the water we drink and the air we breathe"

Joachim Paul-Director Henirich Boll Foundation

The regreening application like the Kijani app is a response to the growing problem of soil degradation, which is directly linked to shrinking arable land and food security.

Launched in Kenya in October 2025 small scale farmers are empowered on how to re-green their land.

Our vision is to make re-greening accessible to everyone. The Kijani App provides digital training and farmer to farmer learning, empowering farmers to take action".

Justdiggit Communication team

A Green Idea For Africa

This application is designed to offer information and digital courses on proven methods to improve yields, soil health and livelihood resilience.

It made its debut in Tanzania where it achieved over 20,000 downloads with active user percentages and curricula on re-greening techniques.

"The Kijani App is good, as I have learned how to make compost manure and prevent soil erosion on my farm. My ambition is to be a model farmer by re-greening ,conserving the environment and protecting natural vegetation."

Jeremiah Jackson-Farmer Singida Tanzania

This Application was among the several climate smart initiatives show cased at the recent Trade Fair held at Nairobi Jamhuri Showground early October 2025.

The Kenya roll out is leveraging the same tool set applied in Tanzania and is working with partners like PELUM Kenya to access agro ecology networks according to Justdiggit representatives at the Trade Fair.

School teams among those who visited the 2025 Nairobi International Trade Fair

Technology access and digital literacy is an emerging challenge in the use of such Applications especially in areas where smallholder farmers may lack smart phones, data connectivity or are not tech savvy.

Digital training may also not translate into action, implementing may require inputs, labor, local context like soil type, rainfall access to seedlings which may vary from region to region.

“Our members are eager to use digital tools like Kijani to expand climate-smart agriculture. It helps bridge generational gaps — younger farmers learn easily through mobile platforms, while older farmers benefit from community-based demonstrations.”— PHYLLIS NDIINU (Interview

Why It Matters

Over 80% of Kenya’s rural population depends on agriculture for income and food security. Yet, Kenyas estimated Land Degradation Index (LDI) suggests approximately 30-35 % land area is degraded as of 2025.

The re-greening Apps like the Kijani one, attempts to offer a low-cost, scalable solution — turning a farmer’s mobile phone into a classroom for soil health, climate resilience, and sustainable farming.

“It’s like having a farming coach in my pocket. The lessons are short, simple, and in Kiswahili — I learn even while feeding my goats.”

Farmer, Kiambu County (Interview, 2025)

Kenya's Research Institute KALRO were among exhibitors at the Nairobi Trade Fair

Solar Cooling Keeping Dairy Sector Alive In Rural Kenya

“Our solar cooling system isn’t just about temperature; it’s about trust. Farmers can finally deliver milk knowing it will reach the market fresh.”

— Savanna Circuit Technical Lead

Savanna Circuit booth at ASK Trade Fair

When I stopped by the Savanna Circuit Technologies stand at the ASK Trade Fair in Nairobi, I wasn’t expecting to find a climate solution disguised as a milk cooler.

One of their sales team members walked me through the innovation — a sleek, solar-powered cooling system mounted on a trolley, small enough to fit on an electric motorcycle or tuk-tuk.

Across rural Kenya, evening milk collections face a tough reality. Once the sun sets and the power goes out, milk spoils fast.

In fact, Kenya loses nearly 290 million litres of milk each year before it even reaches collection centres — mostly due to heat and lack of cooling.

Farmers often wake up to sour milk they can’t sell. Processors reject deliveries. Families lose income. Consumers lose trust. It’s not just an agricultural issue — it’s a health and climate story too.

The Innovation: Solar Cooling that Moves with the Milk

Solar cooler mounted on an electric motorbike or tuk-tuk.

Solar-powered pre-chillers that keep milk cold from farm to collection.

Cooling-as-a-Service (CaaS) — farmers don’t buy expensive hardware; they access cooling as a pay-per-use model.

Easy transport — specially designed milk cans fit neatly on electric motorcycles or tuk-tuks, staying balanced and cool even on rough rural roads.

“We designed the system so that milk can travel safely — even over bumpy roads — without losing its freshness,” a Savanna Circuit sales representative told me at the fair.

Savanna Circuit now serves over 22,000 smallholder farmers in at least 10 dairy zones across Kenya, including:

Nakuru, Narok, Kisii, Bungoma, Kakamega, Busia, Migori, Murang’a, Nyamira, Nyeri, Isiolo, Meru, and Taita Taveta.

These are areas where electricity is unreliable but dairy is livelihood.

In Isiolo and West Pokot, for instance, mobile solar coolers are helping pastoralist families keep milk fresh despite high temperatures and long travel distances.

Food Safety & Health

The benefits of this cooling system are immense, on the health side milk stays below 4°C, slowing bacterial growth and reducing risk of contamination. The result, a healthier, safer drink for families and children.

To the farmer this means less spoilage, more litres sold and a higher household income.

To the environment, the Solar energy replaces diesel generators, cutting emissions and energy costs.

This increases efficiency as the milk is easy to transport using electric tuk-tuks or e-bikes extending cooling to the last mile.

“This is what climate-smart agriculture looks like — simple, renewable, practical,”

Kenya’s government has rolled out 230 bulk milk coolers across 41 counties, increasing cooling capacity by nearly half a million litres daily.

The goal? To reduce national milk losses, stabilise prices, and give farmers confidence in the value chain.

This aligns with the private-sector innovation of solar systems like Savanna Circuit’s — creating a green bridge between policy, technology, and livelihoods.

Of course, scaling innovation is never smooth. Some communities still face limited access to financing, spare parts, or technicians.

Rural roads remain poor. And even with pay-as-you-go models, affordability can be a hurdle.

But where these systems take root, the impact is undeniable.

Clean energy is not just keeping milk cool — it’s keeping families resilient, children healthier, and carbon footprints smaller.

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A farmer holding chilled milk can be next to a solar cooler.

If renewable energy can keep milk fresh in Kenya’s villages, it can just as easily keep hope alive for a climate-smart future.

Because in the story of Kenya’s dairy farmers, every cooled litre of milk is a victory — for health, for livelihoods, and for the planet.

Con Job Or Global Mission?Beyond The Podium! EU,China & Citizens Unite On Climate Solutions.

By Moraa Nyangorora

"This climate change, it's the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world, in my opinion".

US President Donald Trump- statement while addressing the United Nations General Assembly(UNGA)

Taking to the podium in NewYork, President Donald Trump openly dismissed climate change, again!, describing global initiatives to reduce carbon emission as green scams.

Trump's stance is not new, in a post on twitter (Trump, 2012), he described global warming as a concept created by and for, the Chinese in order to give them an edge over the US in manufacturing.

The statement at the high level United Nations General Assembly UNGA meeting (23 Sept 2025), may seem to jolt skepticism , but it pales to other significant events that demonstrate a determination by other players towards clean energy.

I

n the halls of Brussels, the European Union forges ahead with its ambitious Green Deal, while in Beijing, China is pledging to ramp up clean energy.

In its statement of intent approved by the Council of the EU September 2025, European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen pledged to submit its updated Nationally Determined Contribution NDC before the upcoming COP30 summit that begins in November in Belem, Brazil.

'Europe will stay the course on our climate ambition".

Von der Leyen underscored the bloc's commitment noting that the EU is expected to make the submission ahead of COP30 with an indicative 2035 target in a range between 66.25 per cent and 72.5 per cent green gas emissions reduction compared to 1990 levels.

The EU's demonstrated leadership on climate in view of the prevailing politics is critical, reinforcing the need for strengthened international cooperation on an issue that affects all.

In July 2025, EU and China reached a pact to accelerate the drive to a just transition in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication.

China also agreed to submit its 2035 NDC's covering all economic sectors and all greenhouse gases.

At the UN General Assembly, its representatives affirmed their intention to increase investments in renewable energy while scaling down financing for overseas coal projects.

These efforts come in the midst of a growing movement of citizens from 93 countries rising up to demand that leaders act with the urgency required to enable the earth breathe.

A digital campaign mobilised across continents #endfossilfuels peaks, with the agenda to push leaders to end fossil fuels.

Global media like the Guardian are capturing sentiments from the people determined to push forward with carbon reduction plans by rejecting fossil fuel.

"It's so sad to watch the sun going to waste. Every single day, energy from heaven going to waste while we drill down to hell for another dose of the stuff that is wrecking this planet".

Bill McKibben(Activist)

A Kenyan citizen narrates experiences triggered by climate change during the launch of climate impact report 2024

Global Momentum For Action

UN Secretary General Antonio Gutteres is urging more action to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. In a press release he painted the present reality of a people determined to save the planet.

“The science demands action. The law commands it. The economics compel it. And people are calling for it.”

COP30 beckons as political resistance and grass root momentum play out.

Trumps dismissive statement may entrench polarisation but it is evident that multilateral cooperation backed by an empowered citizenry will sustain the global efforts towards net zero.

The outcome at COP30 will be a pointer to where the world is heading in achieving the 2030 climate targets.

Terms Explained

NDC- Nationally Determined Contribution (National Climate Action Plans Under the Paris Agreement) Each country that is party to the agreement submits its plan outlining commitments to address climate change. This demonstrates how it will reduce and adapt to climate impacts.