- Crop Science
Moses: Success in Smallholder Farming
Moses’ story shows how a smallholder farmer in Kenya applies agricultural knowledge to grow his farm, support his family and help other farmers. He left the classroom to apply his knowledge to agriculture, grow his own farm and to help other farmers.
From Teaching to Farming
Moses used to be a teacher. But he turned his back on the classroom with a bigger vision: not just to build a better life for himself, but to lift up the farmers around him and nurture the next generation. "Farming is a profession, and farming is not a punishment," Moses says. It's a belief he lives every day on his smallholder farm in Kenya.
A Farming Background and a New Seed Variety
Growing up in a family where food came from the land, Moses understood early what farming could mean. But it wasn't until a friend introduced him to the DEKALB maize variety that everything changed.
Yield, Education and New Farm Businesses
Before, Moses harvested around 8 to 9 bags per acre. Today, he regularly brings in 28 to 30 bags per acre. That's not just a number – it's school fees paid without stress for his children in boarding school. It's more than 170,000 Kenyan shillings a year, covered with confidence. It's a poultry business and a dairy operation, both built from the profits of his yield.
Supporting Smallholder Farmers
His story is one of many across sub-Saharan Africa, where access to better seed varieties rewriting what's possible for smallholder farmers. For Moses, his harvest is proof: when farmers have the right tools, they don't just survive – they lead.