Small seed, bigger harvest: How Waithera is winning Kenyan farmers' trust
Since 2025, KALRO and PABRA have been promoting Waithera bean across Kenya, where farmer trials in Nakuru, Nyeri, Kiambu and beyond showed higher yields, better nutrition, drought tolerance and consumer appeal, helping build trust and drive wider adoption.
- Agricultural Innovation
- Climate Resilience
- food security
Small seed, bigger harvest: How Waithera is winning Kenyan farmers' trust
Since 2025, KALRO and PABRA have been promoting Waithera bean across Kenya, where farmer trials in Nakuru, Nyeri, Kiambu and beyond showed higher yields, better nutrition, drought tolerance and consumer appeal, helping build trust and drive wider adoption.
In Kenya’s farms, change is arriving without fanfare, but humbly in a small packet of seed passed from an extension officer to a farmer, who is trying something different.
That is how Waithera, a local name symbolizing “abundance”, is entering the country’s bean fields.
Developed through a long-standing partnership between the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) and the Pan-Africa Bean Research Alliance (PABRA) program of the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, Waithera is being positioned to replace the widely adopted Wairimu variety, while refining its weaknesses and retaining the traits farmers already value.