Climate smart options allowing agricultural intensification for smallholders in the dry zones of the Central Highlands of Kenya

With this intervention an urgent need for integrating isolated approaches towards sustainable intensification of agricultural productivity in the Central Highlands of Kenya is answered by simultaneously addressing soil and water conservation and soil fertility issues. Through the process, farming communities are given the floor to select (combinations of) well-targeted interventions, ranked according to their potential to create resilience in the farming systems. These interventions will be scrutinized by novel, state-of-the-art methodologies, in part heavily relying on stable isotope techniques, erosion/runoff measurements and modelling. Throughout the duration of the project, the scientists from Embu University will be empowered by getting access to novel methods and approaches, sharing experiences with scientists from KU Leuven and their international colleagues. Hence they will be enabled to take control of the situation in the region and lift Embu university from a local teaching college to a fully-fledged research-driven university, better placed to be relevant for the surrounding farmer communities among other stakeholders.