Kitui County
Dryland farming zone pioneers climate-smart agriculture—37,000 households adopt drought-tolerant crops. By 2026: technology scales or remains pilot-dependent.
Kitui exists because resilience exists—specifically, the dryland farming adaptations that enable agriculture in one of Kenya's harshest environments. This vast county east of Nairobi receives marginal rainfall, experiences frequent drought, and presents conditions that conventional farming would consider impossible. Yet the Kamba people have cultivated these lands for generations.
The 21st century brings technological reinforcement to traditional adaptation. Drought-tolerant varieties of sorghum, millet, cowpea, and pigeon pea developed by KALRO and ICRISAT thrive where maize fails. Zai pit technologies capture scarce rainfall. Vertical gardens pioneered here and in West Pokot have "become game-changers" for water-scarce households. Katutu Girls Secondary School demonstrates banana and mango production on just two acres, proving the county's potential.
Climate-smart agriculture initiatives now reach 37,000 farming households across Kitui, Makueni, and Taita Taveta through AICCRA. Drone programs combined with precision irrigation help horticultural farmers reduce water losses. Kenyatta University's Kitui Campus offers an MSc in Dryland Agriculture and Enterprise Development—academic recognition that this marginal zone deserves specialized expertise.
The county exhibits classic dryland development dynamics: traditional knowledge augmented by modern technology, donor-funded pilots that struggle to scale, and fertile soils that could feed millions if water were secured. By 2026, Kitui tests whether climate-smart innovations can transition from demonstration plots to county-wide transformation—or whether scaling barriers leave most farmers dependent on unpredictable rains.