From a women’s crop to a household enterprise, beans are redefining farming in Nakuru and Elgeyo Marakwet counties in Kenya

Once considered a food crop primarily associated with women, beans are now emerging as a lucrative cash crop, attracting men into production. In Nakuru and Elgeyo Marakwet Counties, the high-iron Nyota bean is transforming livelihoods, with both men and women heavily investing in its farming. This shift is fueled by the Enhancing Climate Resilience in East Africa (ECREA) project, which, through strategic partnerships with the Grain Legume Program of the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO- Katumani) and the Kenya Meteorological Department (KMD), is making weather and climate information more accessible to bean farmers.

This transformation was evident during a recent training in Nakuru, just before the onset of the March-April-May (MAM) season, when the ECREA, KALRO, and KMD team engaged farmers on leveraging weather and climate information services (WCIS) for climate-smart decision-making. During the event, 100 contracted farmers from Nakuru County both men and women received certified Nyota bean seeds bundled with weather and climate information services (WCIS), agro-advisories and seasonal forecasts.