Kenyan Peasants League

Ensuring Food Sovereignty and Land Rights for Women in Kenya

The Milestone

The Kenyan Peasants League (KPL) was formed in 2016 in response to the World Trade Organization’s threats to local and Indigenous agriculture. The organization has since established seed banks in over 200 households and mobilized 245 households to adopt agroecology. In 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, KPL distributed Indigenous seeds to 78 households in order to support the community’s agency to provide food for themselves. Additionally, through platforms like Seed and Food Festivals and Peasants Agroecology Summer Schools, KPL has fostered knowledge sharing and community building among farmers.

Why This Matters

Agriculture is the cornerstone of Kenya’s economy, contributing significantly to GDP and employing a substantial portion of the population. Approximately 15-17% of the country’s total land area, or roughly 37.6 million acres, is suitable for farming. Of this, a prime 7-8%, about 18.8 million acres, is considered high-quality agricultural land. Despite these figures, a staggering 50% of Kenya’s agricultural production is still subsistence-based, highlighting the challenges faced by smallholder farmers.
 
In this context, KPL emerges as a critical force. They have been instrumental in responding to the escalating threats posed by neoliberal agricultural policies and the decline of traditional farming practices. By prioritizing smallholder farmers, agroecology, and indigenous seed varieties, KPL is working tirelessly to build a more resilient and equitable food system.
 
Their efforts are particularly crucial as Kenya grapples with the intensifying impacts of climate change, the pressures of economic globalization, and the growing challenge of food insecurity. For instance, the country has experienced a series of droughts in recent years, leading to crop failures and increased food prices. KPL’s work in promoting climate-resilient agriculture is therefore essential for ensuring food security for millions of Kenyans.
 
Additionally, KPL’s advocacy for smallholder farmers is crucial, as they form the backbone of Kenya’s agricultural sector, contributing significantly to food production and rural livelihoods. By empowering these farmers and promoting sustainable practices, KPL is helping to preserve Kenya’s agricultural heritage, strengthen rural communities, and ensure that the benefits of the food system are shared equitably.

Movement Action

KPL is a social movement of over 3,000 Kenyan peasant farmers, fisherfolk, pastoralists, and consumers. Their main aim is to promote smallholder farmer agroecology and resist neoliberal policies that threaten local agriculture. This is done by conducting political education, people’s research, technical training, and national advocacy. KPL promotes Indigenous seeds, livestock, and plant varieties, and the creation of an alternative economy that is driven by provision for livelihoods.

How They Are Doing It

Grassroots Mobilization: Focused on building strong relationships and networks, and to ensure that farmers control their own economies, KPL organizes rural peasant farmers into clusters that can produce together and market their produce jointly. A cluster is officially recognized when it has 10 registered households that only practice agroecology. Currently KPL has nine official clusters. Within clusters there are different collectives. They are: access to natural resources collective, human rights collective, peasants rights collective, agroecology and climate change collective, public policies collective, women articulation collective, youth articulation collective, and the trade collective. Clusters conduct monthly meetings known as farmer-to-farmer dialogues.
 
Advocacy and Lobbying: KPL seeks opportunities and creates content to influence government policies and programs to support smallholder farmers and agroecology. They are developing an educational video that aims to capture KPL’s struggles against harmful pesticides and other industrial inputs, including chemical fertilizers and seeds, imported from the UK and EU. The video will highlight alternatives, such as organic pesticides and pile compost, household seed banks, and alternative markets based on principles of solidarity economies.
 
Popular Education: Annually, KPL hosts the Peasant Agroecology Summer School, which educates participants on access to Indigenous seeds and food, organic farming inputs, capturing local markets, peasant feminism, advocacy and campaigns, and communication tools for youth. The agroecology school believes in and practices collective knowledge sharing and consensus building. KPL intends to consult LGBTQI and PWLDs groups as they continue to refine and develop their curriculum. They also educate the public about the importance of agroecology, food sovereignty, the rights of smallholder farmers, protecting and promoting Indigenous seed varieties through seed banks, and community-based seed systems.
 
Documentation and Case Studies: KPL conducts research to understand the challenges faced by smallholder farmers and documents the impact of their work. They generate evidence of environmental degradation and injustices, which they use for their advocacy work and as advocacy tools to share with other environmental justice organizations. One example is the case study on Disappeared & Disappearing Water Sources covering five villages within two of the counties they work in.
 
Strategic Litigation and Campaigns: On October 3, 2022, the Kenyan government lifted a 10-year ban on the cultivation and importation of genetically modified crops (GMOs). KPL opposed the lifting of the ban and began an immediate campaign seeking clarity on the process by which such a lift was allowed to happen. Some of the activities of the campaign included organizing press conferences, hosting Twitter and online actions, gathering peaceful protests by farmers, and offering public lectures on dangers of GMOs.
 
Establishing “Territorial” Markets: Between 2022 and 2023, KPL established seven cooperatives, all focusing on agroecological food production and the development of seed banks. One of them, the Kangemi Food Cooperative, sold agroecologically produced food to 124 households, institutions, and food vendors. The food is distributed twice a week from three collection and distribution points in the community. They also ensure that schools within the community have access to fresh, healthy, and culturally appropriate food.

Thousand Currents Partnership

Since our partnership with KPL began in 2021, we have provided them with core, flexible funding to advance their work. We have watched and learned from KPL as they promote smallholder farmer agroecology; resist neo-liberal policies that threaten food sovereignty; ensure seed, livestock, and plant sovereignty; and create an economy that is sustainable and people-centered. We look forward to continuing a long-term relationship with KPL.

All Case Studies

Aliansi Masyarakat Adat Nusantara
Bufete para Pueblos Indígenas
Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra
Nous Sommes La Solution
Southern Peasants Federation of Thailand
Thousand Currents Partnership Model