School gardens as a learning and livelihood system
01 · Programme at a glance
Four dimensions of the EKYAN system
01
Location
Kenya · Kirinyaga, Busia, Kisumu and Samburu
Rural and mixed farming systems, from high-potential zones to arid pastoral lands.
02
Timeline
2024 pilot → 2025–26 scale → 2026 new phase
The model began in Kirinyaga, expanded to three counties, then launched a deeper last-mile phase.
03
Actors
Schools + youth + farmers + public and private partners
Kuza Biashara, UNICEF, Generation Unlimited, county governments and 40 companies.
04
Scale
256 schools · 64 Centres · 512 agripreneurs
100,000+ farmers reached and 11,000+ students engaged since 2024.
“EKYAN did not just train me. It gave me the confidence, tools and community trust to turn agriculture into a real business.”Youth agripreneur · Year 2 endline
“Through the school demonstrations, I was able to see practices working for myself.”Farmer · Year 2 endline
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02 · Timeline
From a county pilot to a four-county ecosystem
The journey shows deliberate adaptation: prove the model, test it across contrasting farming systems, then deepen delivery.
1
2024
Pilot
Kirinyaga
School demonstration plots and agripreneur-led training tested and refined.
2
2025–26
Scale
Busia · Kisumu · Samburu
400 agripreneurs, 50 Centres of Excellence and 8,008 learners in Year 2.
3
Sep 2026
Deepen
Kisumu launch
A new phase strengthens last-mile household support across eight sub-counties.
4
Now
Next frontier
Depth before breadth
Mentorship, timely inputs, structured markets and broader AI advisory.
Evidence boundary: cumulative figures cover 2024–today; Year 2 results cover 2025–26 and are reported separately.
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03 · Outcomes
Measured change — and where evidence is still emerging
The strongest reported outcomes span livelihoods, learning, production, diets and climate resilience.
Youth livelihoods
MeasuredKES 13k → 30k
Median monthly agripreneur income
99.5% reported income growth
Education
Measured8,008
Young learners reached in Year 2
95.8% see agriculture as an opportunity
Agriculture
Measured66%
Farmers fully adopting new practices
51,425 farmers engaged in Year 2
Nutrition
Measured81.2%
Households eating more vegetables and ALVs
48.8% had no prior nutrition information
Resilience
Measured79.8%
Adopted soil and water conservation
Water-smart and regenerative practices
Ecological diversity
ObservedObserved
More diverse crops in plots and kitchen gardens
No biodiversity index was reported
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04 · How change happens
The garden is the demonstration point — not the whole model
1
Living classroom
Teachers and agripreneurs make agriculture practical on demonstration plots.
2
Visible proof
Learners and farmers see regenerative and nutrition-sensitive practices working locally.
3
Supported adoption
Agripreneurs follow up and connect households to advice, inputs and services.
4
Benefits flow
Harvests support meals; practice can transfer to farms; enterprise links reach markets.
Measured
Adoption, income, learner reach, harvest weight and dietary change.
Observed
Learning carried home; community confidence builds around visible practice.
Potential
Longer-term education, ecological diversity and livelihood effects need continued measurement.
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05 · The school garden model
Inside the school — connected to the system outside
People & activities
- Teachers connect plots to practical learning.
- Learners cultivate, observe and harvest.
- Agripreneurs demonstrate, advise and follow up.
- Farmers see practices and adapt them at home.
Typical components
Demonstration plots, kitchen and sack gardens, raised beds, compost, zai pits, irrigation, diverse leafy vegetables, curriculum links and digital learning.
Connections beyond school
- Harvests → school meals
- Learning → household farms
- Agripreneurs → inputs and advice
- Aggregation → buyers and markets
- OneNetwork → records and visibility
Evidence gap: seed-bank coverage is not reported in the current evidence.
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06 · Enabling conditions
What it takes to make the model work
Initial set-up
01- 01County and school relationships
- 02School selection and usable garden space
- 03Teachers and agripreneurs prepared for delivery
- 04Water access, tools, seed and soil inputs
- 05Curriculum and demonstration plan
- 06Baseline, safeguarding and reporting systems
Daily running
02- 01Daily plot care and learner participation
- 02Agripreneur coaching and household follow-up
- 03Technical referrals and digital advisory
- 04Input availability at the right time and price
- 05Harvest use in school meals
- 06Records, reflection and market connections
Institutional spine
Kuza Biashara · UNICEF · Generation Unlimited · county governments · schools · 40 private-sector companies
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07 · Learning
What worked, what remains difficult, what surprised us
Worked
Make practice visible
School demonstrations, agripreneur follow-up and blended digital learning helped turn knowledge into action.
- All Year 2 targets met
- Farmer and revenue targets exceeded
- 96.1% used digital learning
Did not work equally
Awareness is not enough
The remaining last-mile barrier is timely access to quality, affordable inputs; AI advice is strongest in poultry and not yet equally broad.
- Input availability still constrains adoption
- Ask Nia needs more value chains
- Depth must be protected while scaling
Surprised us
Schools became community proof points
Current stories indicate that practical school plots can influence farmer confidence and carry learning into households.
- 4,591 kg entered school feeding
- 95.8% of learners see opportunity
- Ecological effects remain unmeasured
Measured claims are from the EKYAN Year 2 Final Report, March 2026. Interpretive learning is labelled separately.
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08 · One question for the group
How do we keep school gardens productive and locally owned after project support reduces — without shifting the burden to teachers?
OwnershipRecurring inputsWater & maintenanceEvidence over time
What would you test next?
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