Mokua Mogendi — Nairobi
From soil to supply chain.
Farm operations and agri-tech consulting. Fourteen years running farms in Kenya, Sudan, Laos, Ethiopia and Qatar.
Book a consultation8 countries on site · +67% farm output · 6 carbon projects registered
The living soil
Yield starts below the surface.
Soil probes read moisture where the roots actually are, not where the eye can see.
The science of growth
Feed the soil, not just the plant.
Water films carry nitrate and potassium to the roots; fungal hyphae reach the phosphate they can't.
Intelligent agriculture
Sensors in the field, decisions on time.
Probes and field sensors report to one gateway, so irrigation follows the crop.
Traceable value chains
Every batch on the record.
Field data minted to a blockchain ledger, so buyers can trace produce back to the farm.
- Years in agriculture
- 14+Years in agriculture
- Countries on site
- 8Countries on site
- Farm output, Sudan
- +67%Farm output, Sudan
- Carbon projects registered
- 6Carbon projects registered
Worked with
- Caravane Earth Foundation · Heenat Salma
- Authentium
Our story
Fourteen years, built in the field.
I started as an agricultural extension officer in Kisii, working with smallholders for Kenya's Ministry of Agriculture. Then I went abroad to manage commercial farms: greenhouses and open fields outside Khartoum, fruit for export in Vientiane, a large operation in Ethiopia, and a regenerative permaculture farm in Doha.
On every farm the same problems came back: inputs bought without a budget, yields nobody recorded, produce that couldn't prove where it came from. Since 2022 I've worked on that last problem directly, as Managing Director of CargoLedger and Head of Operations at Clever Harvest, building traceability for East African value chains.
I studied Agricultural Economics and Resource Management at Moi University. I work in English, French and Kiswahili, with some Arabic.
In the field
As much on the farm as in the meeting room.
I still kneel in the rows. Every engagement starts with a walk through the crop: leaves, soil, emitters, records. The data comes after.
Kenya, recent field visits
- Kenya
Walking the drip lines with the farmer
Reviewing emitter spacing and seedling establishment row by row.
Estate visit, Kapkorech
Tea country in Kenya's western highlands.
- Kenya
Diagnosing yellowing papaya leaves
Checking leaf symptoms on a drip-irrigated papaya block.
- Kenya
Talking through the papaya block
What the canopy shows about water and nutrition.
Sudan, 2018: greenhouse and open-field operations
Scouting for pests and disease
Integrated pest management starts with looking closely.
Greenhouse crop walk
Checking growth and canopy under cover.
Laying out drip on new ground
Setting laterals before planting on bare desert soil.
Training cucumbers on the drip line
Hands on with the crew, row by row.
Services
Four ways to hire me, from one farm to a value chain.
Fixed-scope audits, season-long engagements, or a seat on your project team. On site in Africa and the Gulf; remote anywhere.
- 01
Farm operations turnaround
Commercial farms and investors whose output or margins have stalled.
I take over planning, input budgeting and labour for a season, or audit them, and leave behind records and KPIs your own manager can run. In Khartoum this raised monthly output by 67%.
How it works- Operations audit
- Crop calendar and input budget
- KPI dashboard and record system
- Manager training
- 02
Irrigation and water management
Farms in arid and semi-arid zones, from the Sahel to the Gulf.
Review of your irrigation scheme, scheduling and water use, then getting the system working as designed. Drip, sprinkler and greenhouse systems in Sudan, Ethiopia and Qatar.
How it works- Scheme and resource review
- Irrigation scheduling
- Commissioning support
- Water-use reporting
- 03
Traceability and supply-chain technology
Exporters, cooperatives and processors who need to prove where produce came from.
Design and rollout of traceability across a value chain: from farm records to blockchain-backed batch histories and AI-assisted ERP for processing. Built at CargoLedger and Clever Harvest.
How it works- Value-chain mapping
- System selection and rollout
- Farmer onboarding
- Grant-partner compliance
- 04
Regenerative farming and carbon projects
Landowners and developers moving to regenerative systems or carbon credits.
Setting up permaculture and organic systems, compost programmes and biodiversity monitoring, and preparing projects for carbon registration. In Qatar I registered six projects with the Global Carbon Council.
How it works- System design
- Compost and soil programme
- Biodiversity monitoring
- Carbon registration support
Investing in Kenya
Someone you can trust on the ground in Kenya.
For foreign and diaspora investors: where to invest, which land to buy or lease, how to set up the company, and who checks the work once it starts. I'm independent: no commission from sellers or suppliers.
Agricultural investment advisory, Kenya
An independent second opinion before you commit money: which value chain, which region, what it really costs to run, and who to work with. I've hosted European investor delegations and run the farms they invest in.
Read moreFarmland search and due diligence
Before you sign: is the land farmable, is there water, can produce reach a market, and is the title clean? I check the farm side myself and coordinate the advocate and surveyor for the legal side.
Read moreCompany setup and licences for agribusiness
From company registration to the sector licences agriculture needs. I coordinate licensed company secretaries and advocates, and make sure the licences match what the farm will actually do.
Read moreYour partner on the ground in Kenya
Independent eyes on your project: regular site visits, checks on spending and progress, help hiring the right manager, and reports you can rely on. I host and brief delegations too.
Read more
Track record
Results from the field.
Result 01
Farm turnaround, Khartoum
Took over planning, monthly input budgets and records at Almamoun Trade & Investments, cut waste, and got the irrigation scheme working as designed.
+67%Monthly farm outputResult 02
Regenerative farming, Doha
Ran the permaculture and organic farm at Heenat Salma for the Caravane Earth Foundation: compost programme, biodiversity monitoring, traceable livestock purchases, and carbon registration.
6Projects registered with the Global Carbon CouncilResult 03
Farm turnaround, Ethiopia
Took Lootah Group's Niskal fruit and vegetable farm from a 4,000,000 birr loss to a 780,000 birr profit in one year, raising labour output by 41% and operational efficiency by 57%.
780k birrProfit, from a 4M birr loss in one year
Partners and investors
Working with European investors in Kenyan agriculture.
Investors visiting Kenya need someone who knows both the farm and the paperwork. I host delegations, brief them on value chains, and follow through on the ground.
European investor delegation, site visit
Walking investors through agri-processing operations in Kenya.
Netherlands–Kenya business session
Speaking for CargoLedger on supply-chain traceability, among Dutch and Kenyan delegates.
Where I've worked
Eight countries on the ground, more remotely.
Based in Nairobi. Solid lines are farms and projects I ran on site; dashed lines are remote engagements.
On site
Remote
Kenya. Home base. Extension work in Kisii, KCB Foundation advisory, CargoLedger and Clever Harvest.
Career
From extension officer to managing director.
Open any role for what was achieved there.
– now3 yrs 5 mo
- Built the financial roadmap: cash-flow management, P&L analysis and controls that reduced the monthly burn rate without slowing delivery.
- Coordinates a distributed team in the United States, the Philippines, Russia and Nigeria against agreed KPIs.
- Designed the operational workflows the company scales on, and keeps product roadmaps aligned with what the finances allow.
- Prepares due-diligence materials and financial models for investors.
- Brings the company's Fact Graph platform to Kenya through Scanly Kenya, an ICT Authority (ICTA) accredited reseller.
- Finance
- P&L
- Operations
- Distributed teams
- Investor readiness
– 1 yr 9 mo
- Led programme execution on time and within budget, reporting progress and KPIs to the foundation's management in Australia.
- Wrote a strategic playbook aligning rural-livelihood programmes with international donor standards.
- Set up monitoring and evaluation systems and ran operational audits, with corrective action where results fell short.
- Technical lead on crop production, soil health and irrigation; trained partner organisations and reviewed monthly yields.
- Programme delivery
- M&E
- Donor standards
- Soil health
– 1 yr 9 mo
- Traceability
- Industry leadership
– now4 yrs 4 mo
- Defined and ran the Kenyan market entry, negotiating partnerships with private logistics firms and government bodies that grew annual country sales.
- Rolled out CargoLedger's supply-chain software and led the change for traditional logistics partners; their operational efficiency score rose to 76%.
- Part of the Kenyan consortium in the RESULD project with EU and UK partners, and collaborated with TradeMark Africa on its Trade Logistics Information Pipeline (TLIP).
- Directs cross-border deliveries from East Africa to the EU and UK, clearing regulatory bottlenecks along the way.
- Main strategic adviser to the board, turning field data into policy and compliance strategy. Operations Director from 2022 to 2024 before taking over as Managing Director.
- Logistics
- Digital transformation
- Market entry
- Partnerships
- Board advisory
– now4 yrs 8 mo
- Traceability
- Partnerships
– 2 yrs 1 mo
- Ran the traceability pilot across East Africa: hired and trained the team, and pitched it to funders, partners and farmers.
- Set up a traceability and quality partnership with the Mt Kenya Organic Coffee Association using digital tools.
- Kept the programme fully compliant with international grant-partner requirements.
- Trained farmers in organic practices and soil conservation.
- Traceability
- Coffee
- Farmer training
- Grant compliance
– 6 mo
- Put the foundation's regenerative, permaculture model into practice on a working farm in desert conditions.
- Registered more than six projects for carbon credits with the Global Carbon Council.
- Hired and trained the farm team; managed permaculture plots, biodiversity monitoring, compost production and daily animal produce.
- Traced the origin and history of cattle before every purchase, and kept the crop inventory and sales accounts.
- Worked with Qatar University, Qatar Foundation and the ministry responsible for agriculture on research supporting Qatar's food self-sufficiency strategy.
- Regenerative farming
- Carbon credits
- Permaculture
- Research partnerships
– 1 yr
- Took the Niskal fruit and vegetable farm from a loss of 4,000,000 birr to a profit of 780,000 birr.
- Raised labour output by 41% and operational efficiency by 57%.
- Managed the farm managers and supervisors, set budgets by field yield, and briefed the board on annual and seasonal plans.
- Introduced digital reporting for managers and supervisors, saving time on every report.
- Kept the farm compliant with Ethiopian Horticultural Development Agency and GLOBALG.A.P. requirements, and arranged export routes with the food authorities and through Djibouti and Somaliland ports.
- Farm turnaround
- Budgeting
- GLOBALG.A.P.
- Export
– 6 mo
- Advisory
– 1 yr 2 mo
- Ran field operations and exports to Thailand, Vietnam and China, working with the Lao food authority.
- Managed the hydroponic system and its plumbing, electrical and structural maintenance, with the technology partner's team in Spain.
- Trained the workforce on the new growing system, food safety and hygiene, and wrote the farm's GAP rules.
- Planned crop calendars for strawberries, avocado, passion fruit and herbs, keeping costs low and yields on target.
- Hydroponics
- Export
- GAP
- Team training
– 1 yr 1 mo
- Raised monthly farm output by 67% through total quality management and better use of resources.
- Planned and farmed 4,500 acres under centre-pivot irrigation, working with engineering on pivot maintenance.
- Brought the farm to break-even by cutting waste in labour, time, water and fuel, and set budgets from actual spending.
- Introduced KPIs and a records system for inputs, yields and expenses.
- Pivot irrigation
- Large-scale farming
- Cost control
- KPIs
– 2 yrs
- Planned year-round production so vegetables were supplied in every season.
- Wrote the farm's GAP procedures for food safety, the environment and worker welfare.
- Built a system for farm operations, utility accounting and delegation of duties.
- Managed greenhouse climate, grading, packing and storage, and chose seeds, nutrients and crop protection with procurement.
- Technical adviser to the company's directors on farm management.
- Greenhouses
- GAP
- Production planning
– 4 yrs 2 mo
- Trained smallholder farmer groups across several value chains.
- Supervised students on attachment, in collaboration with Gusii Institute.
- Set up farmer exchange visits with Egerton University, from its Kisii campus to Njoro.
- Extension
- Farmer training
- Smallholders
Education & credentials
BSc Agricultural Economics and Resource Management
Moi University, 2014
GAP certified
Horticultural Crops Development Authority (HCDA, now HCD), Kenya
ICT Authority (ICTA) accredited
Scanly Kenya, Fact Graph reseller
Student leader
Moi University Student Organization (MUSO)
Writing
Latest from the field and the office.
Questions
Working in Kenya: what people ask first.
General information, not legal advice. Land, company and licence filings are done by licensed Kenyan advocates and company secretaries.
Is drip irrigation worth it for a small farm in Kenya?
Often, for high-value crops and where water is short or pumped. The case depends on water cost, crop value and whether the farm can keep filters and lines maintained. I'll run the numbers for your site before you buy.
More on thisIs agriculture a good investment in Kenya?
It can be. Export horticulture, avocado, macadamia, dairy and greenhouse vegetables near cities all have working models, and Kenya has good ports, airfreight and trade links. Returns depend on water, management and the buyer, which is what a site visit and a costed plan test.
More on thisHow do I find a consultant I can trust in Kenya?
Ask for a track record you can verify: named employers, references, and photos or visits to farms they have run. Mine is on this site and on LinkedIn, and I'm happy to put you in touch with past clients.
More on thisCan foreigners buy farmland in Kenya?
Under Article 65 of the Constitution, non-citizens can hold land in Kenya only on leasehold, for up to 99 years, not freehold. Companies with foreign shareholders are treated the same way. Agricultural land deals also generally need consent from the local Land Control Board. Your advocate will confirm how this applies to a specific plot.
More on thisHow do I register a company in Kenya?
Companies are registered with the Business Registration Service through the eCitizen portal: name reservation, then incorporation documents for directors and shareholders. A foreign company can instead register a branch. After that come a KRA PIN, county permits and any sector licences.
More on thisCan you represent me in Kenya while I'm abroad?
Yes, as an independent overseer: site visits, progress and spending checks, and reports. Legal representation and signing on your behalf go through an advocate with a proper power of attorney.
More on thisReach me
Tell me about your farm or project.
I reply within two working days, from Nairobi (East Africa Time (UTC+3)). A first call is free and usually takes 30 minutes.
Or message me on LinkedIn.