Kenya
January 27, 2025
The Crops Research Facility of the Kiboko Research Station, an essential agricultural research station in Makueni County, Kenya, has undergone a significant upgrade. With over $2.5 million in funding from Germany, administered in phases by the Crops to End Hunger (CtEH) program, the facility now features world-class infrastructure and equipment, which will accelerate further crop breeding and strengthen food security in East Africa.
Kiboko Research Station inaugurated after $2.5M upgrade
The Kiboko Crops Research Facility in Makueni County, Kenya, celebrated the commissioning of new facilities on January 21, 2025. The inauguration highlighted the station’s expanded capacity to accelerate crop breeding and enhance food security across East Africa.
Research at the Kiboko Crops Research Facility is a collaborative effort involving the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO), CIMMYT, and other leading research institutes.
During the ceremony, Dr. Eliud Kireger, Director General of KALRO, underscored the station’s role in tackling critical gaps in agricultural research and production:
“One of the most limiting factors to agricultural production in Kenya is the availability of quality seed. […] We have the breeders, we have the processing facilities, and we have the outlets through the seed companies. However, ensuring that farmers access high-quality seed remains a significant challenge. […] Without the right facilities, [scientists] cannot deliver the quality work required.”
Prasanna Boddupalli, CIMMYT Regional Director for Asia, formerly CIMMYT Global Maize Program Director, emphasized the significance of Kiboko for research and crop breeding:
“Kiboko is one of the largest public sector crop breeding facilities in the world, with 200 hectares dedicated to it. These new facilities will enable CIMMYT and KALRO breeders to optimize their breeding and seed systems’ work, providing better varieties to farming communities.”
This collaboration has yielded the release of groundbreaking maize hybrids benefiting farmers across East Africa.
Dr. Eliud Kireger, Director General of KALRO (left) and Prasanna Boddupalli, CIMMYT Regional Director for Asia, examine maize hybrids developed at Kiboko Research Station in Kenya. Credit: CIMMYT.
Established in the 1980s, the Crops Research Facility had begun to show its age. With over $2.5 million in funding from the Crops to End Hunger (CtEH) program, invested across several phases—including digitalization, mechanization, and irrigation— and the engineering and technical support of Breeding Resources, which supported the renovation work, Kiboko underwent a significant upgrade. The project has revitalized Kiboko with key improvements including:
- Advanced seed processing and storage: new seed dryers reduce moisture content from 30% to 12% in just 2–3 days, enabling more than two crop cycles per year.
- Drip irrigation and sustainable water utilities: the installation of drip irrigation systems, critical for managing drought-stressed blocks, along with sustainable water and electricity infrastructure—such as transformers— enhances phenotyping capacities.
- Cold storage units: extended seed preservation for several years reduces genetic resource loss and seed regeneration costs.
- Haploid/Diploid Sorter: Reduces the time to separate haploid seeds from diploid seeds to less than 30 minutes compared to a full day previously and significantly reduces manual labor.
- Mechanization: planters and combines introduced through the funding increase precision and productivity while reducing manual labor.
- Data Capture and Management: electronic data capture has been expanded, with CtEH-provided tablets and comprehensive training. Crop breeding data management is now streamlined through the Enterprise Breeding System, developed by Breeding Resources, with its deployment at Kiboko also funded by CtEH.
The upgrade included enhanced occupational health and safety measures, modern office and conference facilities, and gender-inclusive management practices. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and continuous improvement activities supported by Breeding Resources have further enhanced operational efficiency. At the DH facility, this has already resulted into a surge of seedling survival rates to an impressive 90%, significantly lowering production costs and boosting output. Kiboko now offers DH services to the entire region.
The role of Kiboko Research Station in East Africa crop breeding
Maize is the staple food for millions of smallholder farmers in East Africa. For more than three decades, the Kiboko Research Station has served as a centre for maize breeding in the region, focusing on drought tolerance, nitrogen use efficiency, and pest resistance, including protection against fall armyworm.
Examples of success are numerous. Kiboko Research Station has demonstrated capacity to scale climate-resilient crops. This has contributed to the expansion of drought-tolerant maize varieties developed in Kenya and Zimbabwe, which are now grown across sub-Saharan Africa. The area cultivated with these varieties has increased from 0.5 million hectares in 2010 to 8.5 million hectares today.
The station’s advanced screening capabilities for fall armyworm have led to the release of three tolerant maize hybrids, benefiting farmers in Kenya, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Sudan, and Ghana. Maize varieties resistant to maize lethal necrosis have been developed, further strengthening the station’s contributions to regional food security, etc.
Group picture taken during the inauguration of the Kiboko Research Station new facitilies, January 2025. Credit: CIMMYT.
CIMMYT Africa Regional Director Moses Siambi emphasized Kiboko’s far-reaching contributions: “The products developed here are benefiting not just Kenya but other countries across Africa and beyond.”
Looking ahead, Dr. Thuo Mathenge, KALRO Board Chairman, urged the station’s researchers to engage directly with farmers, underscoring the importance of grassroots impact through demonstrations and training programs, which will accelerate the adoption of the new varieties.
Dr. Eliud Kireger concluded with a strong call for continued collaboration: “This partnership with CIMMYT stands out as a shining example of what can be achieved through collaboration. Welcome to Kiboko, and let us continue working together to achieve great things for our farmers and our country!”
Harish Gandhi, Interim Associate Director for Dryland Crops Program, presenting to Dr. Kireger, Dr. Boddupalli and the research facility inauguration attendees. Credit: CIMMYT.
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