Climate-proof crops are finding their way into Kenya’s lunch boxes
By Our Correspondent
The machinery hums steadily in a modest workshop in Mihango, on Nairobi’s eastern outskirts. Inside, surrounded by burlap sacks brimming with sorghum, millet and brown rice, Dora Mummani is building something more substantial than a snack food business. She is developing a template for agricultural transformation in climate-vulnerable regions. Her company, IPOP Africa, which she co-founded with Debora Nyanchama, represents an emerging business model that addresses multiple economic and environmental imperatives simultaneously: food security in a warming climate, value capture in agricultural supply chains and youth employment in developing economies. In a market saturated with imported carbohydrates and refined sugars, her enterprise offers empirical evidence that indigenous, climate-resilient crops can compete in premium segments.
The strategic repositioning of dryland crops
For decades, sorghum and millet have occupied the lower tiers of Kenya’s agricultural economy: subsistence crops with limited commercial appeal and stigmatised as food for the poor. That positioning is beginning to shift, driven by converging forces: climate volatility that threatens conventional agriculture, growing consumer awareness of nutrition and technological advances in food processing.
These grains possess inherent advantages. They thrive in semi-arid conditions where maize and wheat increasingly falter. Their nutritional profile (low glycaemic index, naturally gluten-free, high in calcium and micronutrients) aligns with global wellness trends. Yet until recently, the infrastructure to transform these attributes into market value remained underdeveloped.
The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) has been working to close this gap through its Smart Food programme, which seeks to reposition underutilised crops as solutions to interconnected challenges: nutrition, climate adaptation and rural economic development.
Aliet Ugada, a nutrition specialist at ICRISAT who has worked directly with IPOP Africa, frames the organisation’s role in systemic terms. The institute is currently engaged with 120,000 young people across ten Kenyan counties, providing training in value addition, food safety standards and market access. The objective, she explains, is not merely to improve farming practices but to cultivate a generation of food entrepreneurs who can capture greater margins along the supply chain.
“We have long been recognised for our leadership in seed systems,” Ugada observes. “Now we are expanding that work substantially into value addition, helping entrepreneurs refine their branding, raise their standards and scale their operations so their products can genuinely compete in the marketplace.”
From research to commercial reality
Mummani’s route to entrepreneurship was circuitous. A food science and nutrition graduate from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, her journey began during her master’s research in 2019. Initially focused on baobab trees in Kilifi and Kitui counties, she encountered a transformative moment in a Kitui household: a simple breakfast of popped sorghum mixed with milk.
The observation sparked a broader insight. Here was a nutritious indigenous grain, consumed in its most basic form, with untapped commercial potential. During fieldwork in Embu County, she discovered Japanese popping technology that could industrialise the process without compromising nutritional integrity.
“I saw a machine,” she recalls, “but what I really saw was a pathway to lift our indigenous grains into modern markets without stripping their identity.”
Converting insight into enterprise proved challenging. The specialised popping equipment required significant capital. Mummani and Nyanchama acquired the machinery through hire purchase, a decision that underscores the financial constraints facing African food entrepreneurs. The machine uses controlled heat and pressure without oil or chemical additives, transforming raw kernels into crisp snacks within an hour.
The economics of value addition
Early market entry attempts revealed harsh economic realities. Initial attempts to sell popped grains at 100 Kenyan shillings in price-sensitive neighbourhoods yielded disappointing returns. The product, whilst nutritious, was positioned incorrectly.
The breakthrough came when Mummani repositioned the product for urban consumers at organic markets in Kiambu, where customers demonstrated willingness to pay premium prices for traceable, nutritious alternatives to conventional snacks. This pricing dynamic illustrates a broader principle: value-added products from indigenous crops can command higher margins than raw commodities, but only when matched with appropriate market positioning and consumer education.
Inside her workshop, the production process reveals operational sophistication. Grains arrive from local suppliers, undergo rigorous cleaning and de-stoning, then enter the specialised popping machine. A rotating drum blends each batch with natural flavours including honey, cinnamon, ginger and cardamom before a dehydration process locks in freshness. Recent operational improvements (consolidating production under one roof and upgrading equipment) have doubled throughput.
The business now sustains seven full-time positions, from machine operators to security personnel. IPOP Africa has also developed an environmental commitment through its “One snack one tree initiative”, planting a tree for every product purchased, an unusual corporate responsibility programme for a small-scale enterprise.
Beyond local operations, the business has attracted international attention. Mummani attended the One Young World Summit in Manchester in September 2022 and travelled to Benin for the Ruforum Conference as a young innovator, receiving a grant award of 300,000 Kenyan shillings. She also participated in the BioInnovate Women Research Fellowship in Uganda in 2021, opportunities that have expanded her networks and business acumen.
Scaling the model across the continent
ICRISAT Director General Himanshu Pathak views enterprises like IPOP Africa as proof of concept for a continent-wide opportunity. The potential scale, he argues, extends far beyond individual businesses to encompass entire regional value chains.
“The future of Africa’s food economy lies in value addition,” Pathak states. “Every time we take a climate-smart crop and convert it into a market-ready product, we multiply its economic impact.” He emphasises that dryland crops are particularly suited for this transformation, flourishing in conditions where water-intensive crops struggle, thereby providing the foundation for new industries that generate employment and strengthen resilience.
The organisation’s Africa Director, Rebbie Harawa, characterises the approach as de-risking innovation for local entrepreneurs. “When a small workshop in Utawala can convert sorghum into a nutritious, market-ready snack, it demonstrates how science, placed in the hands of local innovators, creates dignity, employment and lasting impact,” she notes.
Across the continent, similar ventures are emerging. Young entrepreneurs are transforming dryland crops into breads, beverages, porridges, flours and confections. These dispersed workshops and training centres constitute the infrastructure of a larger economic transition, from selling raw agricultural commodities at minimal margins to producing finished goods with substantially greater value capture.
The sorghum value chain in Kenya has witnessed significant development. In Tharaka Nithi County, for instance, smallholder farmers have partnered with organisations like Africa Harvest to commercialise sorghum production, linking farmers directly to industrial buyers such as East African Breweries Ltd. Such partnerships demonstrate how coordinated value chain development can transform regional agricultural economies.
Strategic imperatives and market realities
Mummani’s ambitions for IPOP Africa are methodical: expand retail distribution, develop portion sizes appropriate for school canteens, introduce new flavour profiles whilst maintaining nutritional integrity and traceability to Kenyan dryland agriculture. The company has already secured distribution through retailers like Greenspoon, where its products are positioned as premium, health-conscious alternatives.
Her message to retailers and consumers alike is framed around economic patriotism and sustainability: supporting Kenyan grains means supporting Kenyan employment whilst recognising that traditional crops can drive contemporary innovation. “I ventured into this because of my vision to create opportunities for youth and women,” Mummani explains. “Africa should protect its food systems’ sovereignty through utilising local food resources, which will offer sustainable livelihoods and protect the environment against climate change.”
The broader question is whether this model can achieve sufficient scale to materially impact Kenya’s food system and rural economy. The early indicators are promising but modest. IPOP Africa’s seven employees represent meaningful local impact, yet transforming dryland agriculture into a significant economic sector will require hundreds of similar enterprises, supported by improved infrastructure, access to capital and sustained consumer demand.
The challenge is not merely technical or agricultural; it is fundamentally about market creation and value chain restructuring. Success will depend on whether entrepreneurs like Mummani can demonstrate consistent profitability whilst navigating the complexities of food safety regulations, distribution logistics and competition from established brands with far greater resources.
Africa’s sorghum seed market, valued at approximately 138.9 million dollars in 2025, is projected to reach 187.4 million dollars by 2030, suggesting growing commercial interest. Yet structural challenges persist: drought during growing seasons, limited awareness of improved seed varieties and competition from more profitable crops like maize continue to constrain production.
What comes next
In Mihango, the workshop continues its steady rhythm. Finished packets accumulate in neat stacks, awaiting distribution. The scene is modest, yet it represents something more consequential: evidence that climate-resilient agriculture and profitable enterprise need not be contradictory objectives.
Whether this model can scale sufficiently to reshape Kenya’s agricultural economy remains an open question. But in this compact workshop, surrounded by indigenous grains that flourish where others fail, a viable alternative is taking tangible form, one packet at a time. As Mummani observes with characteristic directness: “Once people taste it, they understand. The quality difference is tangible.”
