Regen Organics: New findings on demand for regenerative agricultural inputs in East Africa
Regen Organics, the largest producer of organic fertiliser in Kenya, sold over 4,500 tonnes in 2023 under the brand ‘Evergrow’. Most of these sales went to smallholder farmers, with research partner 60 Decibels finding that 96% of farmers using Evergrow reported an increase in production and 84% reported an increase in income. Since 2023 Regen Organics, with the support of Small Foundation, has been developing a digital agtech platform to enable smallholder farmers to purchase their regenerative agricultural input needs.
In parallel, Regen Organics carried out research to better understand barriers and opportunities for reaching smallholder farmers from the perspective of the farmers and agrovets. This research was a collaboration with Boston Consulting Group’s Green Ventures Programme, which is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and hosted by Strathmore University. The researchers interviewed 600 farmers (74% of whom were male, with 77% between 35-54 years old) across 6 regions in Kenya, the majority of whom were not users of Evergrow fertiliser.
We are very pleased to share the findings, which provided Regen Organics with valuable insights as it continues to develop its digital platform.
Regen Organics has commenced the next phase of pilots:
- Precision agriculture advice – Regen Organics is working with TomorrowNow, Arable, One Acre Fund and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to bring cutting-edge advice (weather, agronomic, fertilizer, pest and disease) to support the effective application of regenerative agricultural inputs.
- Efficient incentives – With the support of Mercy Corps Ventures, Regen is exploring a rewards application system with smallholder farmers to better understand the commercial levers available to secure and scale their adoption of regenerative agriculture products.
David Auerbach, co-Founder and President at Regen Organics, commented, “We see these streams of works folding up into one platform for farmers and agrovets to engage with. Utilising the results of the pilots, plus working with leading experts in the e-commerce space in Africa, Regen Organics plans to develop its own platform to become a one-stop value-additive digital shop for regenerative agriculture inputs for small and medium-sized farms.”
Regen Organics and Small Foundation welcome feedback and look forward to learning from the next phase of this project.
Image: A Regen Organics teammate tends to adult black soldier flies; Nairobi, Kenya.
