From REALMS to the Power for Food Partnership
Regenerative Agricultural Practices for Improved Livelihoods and Markets (REALMS) tested whether RA technologies work. P4FP asks how they work together with renewable-energy-enabled irrigation. Building on evidence, learning, and innovation.
What We LearnedHow P4FP Goes Further← Power for Food PartnershipBringing agri-food and energy systems together
Smallholder farmers and agribusinesses across East Africa face declining soil health, erratic weather, and limited access to reliable energy, which threaten food security, rural livelihoods, and ecosystems.
Agri-food and energy systems often operate in silos. The Power for Food Partnership (P4FP) brings regenerative agriculture (RA) and the productive use of renewable energy (PURE) together, so that progress in one unlocks impact in the other.
P4FP builds on REALMS (2020–2024), funded by the IKEA Foundation and implemented by SNV.
Six lessons from the field
Between 2020 and 2024, REALMS tested regenerative agriculture practices on farmers' own fields across East Africa. These are the lessons CoELIB, a research organisation affiliated to Egerton University, is taking forward into P4FP.
Good soil takes time
Organic fertilisers release nutrients gradually, and their benefits to soil build up over time. In REALMS, changes observed over two seasons were relatively small.
P4FP: trials are designed for longer-term observation, to better understand the full impact of regenerative practices.
Regenerative practices need reliable water
Erratic rainfall affected REALMS trials, showing that regenerative soil management alone cannot restore productivity when water is severely limited.
P4FP: tests several organic fertilisers alongside solar-powered irrigation, since a consistent water supply is critical for RA practices to work well.
Simple, standard measures help farmers
Fertiliser instructions for farmers were often inconsistent: “a handful” does not produce the same quantity per farmer, per farm.
P4FP: focuses on consistent fertiliser use, working with SMEs to develop product-specific cups and scoops that measure exactly the amount required.
One crop gives clearer answers
REALMS tested RA practices across several crops. This showed RA works across different cropping systems, but made it harder to isolate the effect of specific treatments.
P4FP: focuses on one crop, giant black nightshade (managu), across seven Kenyan counties to study different organic fertilisers and the integration of irrigation.
If farmers can’t access it, it won’t scale
Some fertilisers trialled in REALMS weren’t locally available at certain trial sites, making them less practical for farmers after the trial.
P4FP: used its baseline assessment to identify locally available solutions and limited testing to those. Bioslurry, for example, is tested where it is already commonly produced, giving farmers a realistic pathway to uptake.
Research works best when it’s connected to its users
Through a living lab approach, the mother trials that produce scientific evidence are linked to the actors around them who can take up the learnings.
Continuity: when final measurements are collected, farmers and other actors can continue to apply the methods and technologies and benefit from them.
From testing RA to understanding the RA-PURE nexus
Solar-powered supplemental irrigation becomes an experimental factor, not just a response to water shortage.
RA-PURE nexus
Examines whether regenerative fertility management and renewable-energy-enabled irrigation complement each other for soil conditions and productivity.
A common test crop
Giant Black Nightshade (Managu) is grown across all seven counties, so differences reflect soils, water regime, and technologies rather than crop choice.
Baseline-informed design
Baseline work identified priority crops, practices, and local technologies. Bioslurry is tested where it is already produced, and products must be accessible within or near each county.
Soil health, not only chemistry
Soil biological properties are assessed alongside chemical ones, since organisms drive decomposition and nutrient cycling.
Soil moisture as a variable
Irrigated and non-irrigated treatments with weekly monitoring explain when and why treatments begin to differ.
Locally reproducible technologies
Farmers already making standardized, enriched compost are engaged, giving learning for those who will not buy commercial fertilizers.
From experimental plots towards living laboratories
The mother trials provide controlled evidence. Around them, host farmers, farmer field schools, SMEs, and extension personnel observe, discuss, and adapt technologies, and the sites keep supporting learning after final measurements.
Biopesticides first
REALMS gave preliminary evidence that locally made biopesticides performed encouragingly against synthetic pesticides, in one county over one season.
Where crop protection is needed in the current mother trials, biopesticide approaches take priority, staying consistent with RA principles.
Current trial structure
| Factor | Levels |
|---|---|
| Fertility regimes | 3 |
| Water regimes | 2 (irrigated / non-irrigated) |
| Test crop | Giant Black Nightshade |
| Counties | 7 |
| Experimental units | 126 |
An additional RA-PURE learning opportunity
A Master's study alongside REALMS found mulched treatments improved several soil properties, including pH, nitrogen, carbon, phosphorus, and potassium.
5.1 Proposed incorporation
Each existing subplot would be split into a mulched and an unmulched section, making mulch a split-subplot factor in a 3×2×2 factorial. This tests whether mulch changes crop response to irrigation and whether fertilizer–mulch combinations behave differently under irrigated and non-irrigated conditions.
5.2 Implications for soil analysis
Baseline samples were taken before mulching, so they remain the common reference. At end-line, mulched and unmulched sections must be sampled separately.
| Stage | Samples |
|---|---|
| Baseline | 126 |
| End-line (assessed once) | 252 |
| End-line (assessed twice) | 504 |
Added needs include field measurements, labour, plot management, and sourcing uniform mulch across seven counties.
What P4FP integrates
REALMS showed that selected regenerative fertility technologies can support production and positively influence soil. P4FP takes those findings as its starting point.
- Regenerative fertility management with solar-powered irrigation
- A common crop across seven contrasting environments
- Soil biological as well as chemical indicators
- Explicit examination of soil moisture
- Improved standardization of fertilizer application
- Local accessibility of technologies
- Stronger learning from farmer-produced inputs
- Living laboratories for demonstration and continued learning
From REALMS to P4FP
Download the September 2026 document introducing the transition from REALMS to the Power for Food Partnership. Developed by CoELIB, Egerton University in partnership with SNV under funding by IKEA Foundation.
↓ Download PDFSNV project page