Highlights
In Tanzania, 133,232 farmers benefited from enhanced market access, earning TZS 323 million (€103,000) in premiums for certified coffee. Forty-five project-trained and accredited internal auditors reduced certification costs and strengthened compliance, demonstrating the combined impact of certification, capacity building and market linkage support on small-scale farmers’ incomes and resilience.
In 2025, our market access interventions enabled 269,000 farmers to access premium and structured markets across coffee, tea, cereals, potatoes, pulses and artisanal and small-scale gold (ASM). Cumulatively, including 2024, more than 347,000 farmers benefited, reflecting sustained efforts to enhance market access, strengthen productivity (volumes & quality), ensure fair value distribution and increase transparency across key value chains.
In Kenya, 40 nurseries raised and distributed 1.6 million improved planting materials, including coffee, vegetables, shade and fruit trees. Beyond expanding access to high-yielding, climate-resilient varieties, the nurseries also strengthened local livelihoods by generating additional income and 768 employment opportunities, particularly for women and youth, through grafting, top-working and nursery management activities. The nurseries contributed to the creation of new decent jobs while also sustaining a further 210 existing positions.
Women in Tea Value Chain Association and women-led organizations in Uganda are improving access to premium markets, governance structures and decision-making roles. Kenya’s first organic coffee at the TRACE Kenya end-of-project meeting and the Association of Women in Tea Uganda securing market access for specialty tea. These milestones positioned Solidaridad as a catalyst for sustainable production and responsible sourcing, demonstrating how strategic visibility can unlock market opportunities, strengthen producer influence and shape policy engagement for small-scale farmers.
Solidaridad supported the design and fabrication of 130 improved mercury retorts in 2024. In 2025, Solidaridad facilitated the distribution of these retorts and the transfer of this technology to 120 ASGM mines in Kenya and Tanzania. Follow-up and technical support focused on promoting proper and consistent use of the retorts, with the aim of improving mercury recovery during gold processing and reducing harmful emissions from artisanal mining activities.
Results
385,773
farmers with improved yield (kg/ha)
146,320
farmers with farm income increase
334,384
Farmers and miners with access to improved services
Advancing Sustainable Livelihoods and Resilient Systems
Solidaridad strengthened agricultural, mining and industrial supply chains across East and Central Africa by promoting climate-smart production, sustainable land management, improved service delivery and responsible sourcing. Together, these efforts boosted productivity, resilience and incomes — while promoting inclusive, environmentally sustainable value chains and strong partnerships with producers, enterprises and communities.
In 2025, our climate-smart agriculture (CSA) models reached 378,000 farmers, driving higher yields, while 337,000 farmers achieved measurable improvements in income. In the 2021 and 2025 strategic period, these models cumulatively reached 955,000 farmers, with 892,000 farmers benefiting from income gains. This reflects the scaling of producer-driven transformation across key agricultural value chains.
These results were achieved through integrated interventions, combining improved production, processing and post-harvest handling practices and technologies; efficient aggregation systems; and enhanced market access. This ensured that sustainable supply chain development translated to substantial economic and environmental impact.
In the maize sub-sector, 5,900 farmers in Kenya are implementing minimum tillage (ripping and basins), certified seeds, integrated pest management and integrated soil fertility management, among other practices. They reported a 52% increase in average maize production, from 10.3 bags per acre at project baseline to 15.7 bags per acre across the short and long rains in 2025.
In Ethiopia’s dairy sector, the average milk yield increased by 46%, from 6.7 to 9.8 litres per cow per day (weighted average across local and crossbred animals). This improvement was driven by integrated service delivery through Dairy Service Hubs and Farmer Extension Support units. These provide coordinated access to inputs, advisory services and market infrastructure. Key drivers included the uptake of artificial insemination, increasing from 18.5% to 97.7%, alongside improved barn design and herd management, access to veterinary services and high-yielding, climate-resilient fodder supplied through Commercial Fodder Centers. Investments in milk-cooling infrastructure and stronger market linkages created clear economic incentives for farmers. The introduction of quality-based pricing meant milk could be reliably aggregated, preserved and sold into formal markets.
To sustain the positive trends in productivity gains and/or stabilize yields, Solidaridad promoted integrated land management approaches to restore soil health, strengthen ecosystem services and safeguard the long-term sustainability of agricultural production systems.
Across Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, our initiatives covered 227,382 hectares, reaching a cumulative 876,000 hectares under improved land management for the 2021 and 2025 period. Our project-promoted interventions combined regenerative agricultural practices, improved land-use planning and ecosystem restoration to strengthen farm and landscape resilience.
As of 2025, agroforestry adoption expanded to 36,000 hectares, with more than 50,000 coffee, tea and food crop farmers integrating shade trees into their farms. This improved soil fertility, microclimates, biodiversity and carbon sequestration. It also generated additional income from timber, fruit and other tree-based products.
Through composting, mulching and integrated soil fertility techniques, regenerative soil management practices restored degraded soils and improved water retention and nutrient availability. It also reduced dependence on external inputs, increasing long-term productivity. Integrated land-use systems combining crop production, livestock management and tree-based systems enhanced resilience by spreading risk, improving nutrient cycling and maintaining productive landscapes under increasingly variable climatic conditions.
In artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM), targeted initiatives were prioritized to support sector formalization and regulatory compliance by improving environmental performance, strengthening occupational health and safety standards and enabling responsible participation in formal mineral markets.
One of the most significant environmental challenges in artisanal gold mining is the use of mercury during the gold amalgamation process. Exposure to mercury vapor poses serious health risks for miners and nearby communities, contributing to environmental contamination.
To address this challenge, Solidaridad supported the design and fabrication of 130 improved mercury retorts in 2024. In 2025, Solidaridad facilitated the distribution of these retorts and the transfer of this technology to 120 ASGM mines in Kenya and Tanzania. Follow-up and technical support focused on promoting proper and consistent use of the retorts, to improve mercury recovery during gold processing and reduce harmful emissions from artisanal mining activities.
In 2025 alone, 305,100 farmers, miners and enterprises accessed inputs and services through Solidaridad-supported providers, bringing the total reached between 2021 and 2025 to 727,000. Throughout the year, 1,502 service providers received technical and capacity support on key areas such as business development, governance training, nursery management and extension support, enhancing their capacity to serve farmers, miners and enterprises.
In Kenya, 40 nurseries raised and distributed 1.6 million improved planting materials, including coffee, vegetables, shade and fruit trees. Beyond expanding access to high-yielding, climate-resilient varieties, the nurseries also strengthened local livelihoods by generating additional income and 768 employment opportunities. These opportunities were aimed particularly at women and youth, involving grafting, top-working and nursery management activities. The nurseries contributed to the creation of new decent jobs, while also sustaining 210 existing positions.
In Ethiopia, Solidaridad operationalized four Dairy Service Hubs to provide inputs and extension support to dairy farmers. By October 2025, two hubs were fully functional. The hubs offer dairy hub managers, milk quality testing, e-Dairy systems, solar-powered milk chillers, artificial insemination and veterinary services, concentrated feed and green fodder and streamlined milk collection and delivery to processors. The other two hubs were partially functional, providing solar-powered milk chilling, concentrated feed, milk quality testing, organized milk collection and onward supply to processors. Notably, one of the hubs aggregated over 2.13 million litres of milk, demonstrating the model’s effectiveness in linking farmers to formal markets.
During the first production cycle, the DSH model facilitated the establishment of two fodder-producing MSMEs, cultivating a combined 17 hectares of improved forage species, including oats, vetch and alfalfa, and producing 97 metric tonnes of green fodder. By supplying high-yield, climate-resilient feed, these enterprises ensured steady feed availability, directly addressing a critical constraint in small-scale dairy systems. Beyond supply, they strengthened feed security and established sustainable input supply chains, enhancing the resilience and productivity of local dairy farmers.
In Tanzania, seed funding totaling €178,840 (TZS 534,097,723.84) was provided to eleven coffee cooperatives, enabling nine to establish input shops and two to acquire central pulping units, thereby strengthening their operational capacity and enhancing their commercial viability.
2025 marked the end of our flagship five-year policy-influencing RECLAIM Sustainability! programme implemented across Ethiopia (cotton and textiles); Kenya and Uganda (coffee, tea, food products, and artisanal and small-scale gold mining). The programme realized significant progress in strengthening enabling environments, advancing inclusive policy reforms and positioning small-scale producers and workers more equitably within dynamic market systems.
A central pillar of the programme was building the capacity of civil society organizations and producer groups to engage meaningfully in policy and sector governance. Sustained efforts amplified farmer and worker voices. This amplification contributed to fairer value distribution, more inclusive decision-making and improved transparency. In Kenya, six civil society organizations were strengthened, and 24 county-level coffee platforms were established and operationalized, creating structured channels for small-scale coffee farmer participation in sector reforms. At a broader level, national multi-stakeholder platforms were institutionalized in the tea sub-sector in Kenya and Uganda. These platforms convened government, private sector actors, farmers, workers and civil society, fostering coordinated dialogue and more responsive policy processes.
The programme contributed to several notable policy and regulatory achievements across value chains. In Kenya, farmer recommendations were integrated into the Coffee Bill 2023, reflecting a shift toward more participatory policymaking. In Uganda, the adoption of the National Coffee Regulations 2023 and the operationalization of the Coffee Act 2021 marked important steps toward strengthening sector governance. Progress was also recorded in the tea sector, including the development of new regulations in Kenya and the submission of Uganda’s Tea Policy to the Cabinet. In the food products sector, Kenya adopted the Potato Regulations Implementation Guide nationwide, while Uganda launched the National Horticulture Strategy 2025-2035, providing a long-term framework for sector development and investment.
Solidaridad also strengthened preparedness for evolving international sustainability requirements, positioning producers and exporters to remain competitive in global markets. In Kenya, 82,643 hectares of coffee farms were mapped to support compliance with the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), alongside the establishment of a national EUDR technical working group to coordinate stakeholder responses. These efforts enhanced traceability, reduced compliance risks and reinforced market access for small-scale producers.
In the artisanal and small-scale gold mining sector, the programme facilitated progress toward formalization and improved governance. In Uganda, the issuance of Mubende United Miners’ Assembly’s Small-Scale Mining License (SML 00575) marked a significant milestone. The license reflects years of coordinated efforts to organize miners, strengthen compliance with regulatory frameworks and enhance engagement between mining communities and government authorities. Solidaridad’s sustained advocacy and technical support contributed to creating the enabling conditions for licensed and responsible mining operations to emerge, signaling broader regional momentum toward a more structured and transparent ASM sector. In Kenya, complementary gains were achieved following the establishment of the Artisanal and Small-Scale Miners Association and the formalization of 55 mining cooperatives. These efforts strengthened sector governance, improved working conditions and expanded access to formal markets. The development of a self-compliance manual aligned with national mining regulations further equipped miners with practical tools to transition toward compliant and sustainable operations.
In 2025, our market access interventions supported 269,000 farmers in accessing premium and structured markets across coffee, tea, cereals, potatoes, pulses and artisanal and small-scale gold. Cumulatively, including 2024, more than 347,000 farmers benefited, reflecting sustained efforts to enhance market access, strengthen productivity (volumes & quality), ensure fair value distribution and increase transparency across key value chains.
In Kenya, small-scale farmers produced 135 metric tonnes of organic certified coffee and continued to expand Rainforest Alliance certified coffee, reaching over 3,700 metric tonnes cumulatively since 2023. Kenyan farmers also launched the country’s first single-origin organic coffee in Germany, fetching up to $60 per kilo at specialty coffee fairs, signaling potential for strong international uptake and premium recognition. Quality improvements further elevated coffee grades from third to first (AA and AB), resulting in a total marketed volume of 32,000 metric tonnes, a 22% increase from baseline.
In Tanzania, 133,232 farmers benefited from enhanced market access, earning TZS 323 million (€103,000) in premiums for certified coffee. Forty-five project-trained and accredited internal auditors reduced certification costs and strengthened compliance, demonstrating the combined impact of certification, capacity-building and market-linkage support on small-scale farmers’ incomes and resilience.
In Kenya, 3,000 maize farmers benefited from business-to-business (B2B) linkages supported by three aggregation centers established in 2024, securing 770 metric tonnes in purchase commitments and providing predictable demand that stabilized farmer incomes. In tea and potatoes, digital platforms, including Beyco(coffee), 1,2 Taste(tea) and Viazi Soko(potatoes), enhanced market transparency and connected producers to higher-value and international markets. These improvements strengthened traceability, price discovery and producer bargaining power.
In Ethiopia, Solidaridad facilitated the brokerage of pre-sale contracts for 400 tonnes of haricot beans worth ETB 32 million (€175,000), leveraging B2B sessions in partnership with the Central Ethiopia Regional Bureau of Trade and Market Development and the Cooperative Development Agency. Digital marketing platforms via Telegram provided real-time price and quality data, linking farmers, unions and private suppliers to optimize market opportunities. Dairy Service Hubs in Sululta, Berek and Aleltu districts strengthened milk aggregation, cooperative membership and service delivery, collecting 3.66 million litres of milk and generating over ETB 46.6 million (€1.08 million) in revenue. Trust and engagement drove a fourfold increase in cooperative membership. Essential services, such as veterinary care, feed distribution and artificial insemination, then helped participants improve productivity and diversify their income. This integrated model improved feed efficiency, supported climate-smart farm management and strengthened herd productivity, driving gains in milk productivity (volumes & quality) and a 48–62% increase in participation of small-scale farmers in structured dairy markets.
Across the region, targeted initiatives sustained momentum in advancing environmental sustainability and inclusive climate resilience. Strategic partnerships with carbon market actors, including the ACORN platform, continued to provide economic incentives for 9,423 farmers already engaged in carbon markets. This serves to reinforce the ongoing adoption of sustainable practices and lay the groundwork for evidence-based carbon farming initiatives in the future. Additionally, strategic gender-focused interventions ensured women’s leadership and participation in value chains. The Kenya Women in Tea Value Chain Association and other women-led organizations in Uganda are improving access to premium markets, governance structures and decision-making roles.
In Tanzania, the implementation of responsible sourcing frameworks for artisanal and small-scale gold attracted downstream buyers to establish formal procurement relationships with mining communities. This support strengthened cooperative governance, operational compliance and financial transparency, enabling formalized mining cooperatives to access structured markets. As a result, miners benefited from more predictable incomes, safer working practices and improved community-level economic stability. This demonstrates how targeted interventions can accelerate sector formalization and responsible sourcing.
Change stories
In Bungoma County, Kenya, the transformation of a single coffee farm is creating ripple effects across the entire community. By adopting organic practices and sharing her knowledge, Jemimah Nelima Chemiat has helped her grandfather significantly increase his yields and restore the health of his land. Her guidance has inspired neighboring farmers to improve their methods and encouraged women and youth to take a more active role in the coffee value chain. Through these efforts, Jemimah is demonstrating that sustainable agriculture can be both profitable and empowering.
Uganda’s artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector is both an economic cornerstone and a developmental paradox. Despite its economic importance, ASM remains largely informal, technically underserved and environmentally hazardous. Recent reforms aim to bridge this gap by strengthening regulatory frameworks and promoting responsible formalization.
For years, Beliyu Abebe’s dairy farm produced just enough milk to support her family. With training, improved forage and new climate-smart investments, she has increased production and strengthened her herd’s health. Today, her farm is becoming a learning site for other dairy farmers in her community.
Innovative Sustainability Solutions
Innovation for change
Solidaridad East and Central Africa delivered a comprehensive suite of innovative, data-driven solutions to build resilient value chains. We scaled climate-smart practices, reaching 378,000 small-scale farmers with regenerative agriculture models and piloting biochar systems for carbon credit generation. Simultaneously, we strengthened social inclusion by employing gender-transformative approaches, resulting in increased joint decision-making and ensuring 40% participation of women and youth across value chains, alongside new enterprise opportunities and financial literacy programs.
Regenerative Agriculture and Climate-Positive Farming
In 2025, we advanced regenerative agriculture across East Africa, reaching 378,000 small-scale farmers in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Farmers led the adoption of tree-based agroforestry systems, integrating shade and fruit trees, to build soil organic matter and improve fertility. Throughout our initiatives, farmers actively shaped the practices based on their knowledge, resources, livelihood priorities and local realities, ensuring interventions were both practical and sustainable.
To enhance decision-making and support scaling, we deepened our engagement with the Farm Tree platform, adopting a more data-driven approach to assessing our agroforestry activities. This ex-ante forecasting tool models the expected outcomes of tree planting. Preliminary insights from our agroforestry and carbon farming work in Kenya and Uganda highlighted a critical lesson: carbon farming interventions achieve maximum impact when models are designed around farmers’ capacities, priorities and incentives, not solely market-driven objectives.
By centering them in both design and adoption, Solidaridad will continue to support small-scale farmers in improving soil health, increasing crop yields and unlocking new economic opportunities through climate-smart practices. This will establish the foundation for scalable, data-driven agroforestry interventions across the region. Building on our learnings, Solidaridad will continue refining its agroforestry models to generate more precise projections, enabling data-driven decisions that maximize farmer benefits, strengthen livelihoods and enhance environmental outcomes.
Full utilization of the Farm Tree platform will generate actionable insights that directly inform strategic decisions and scale impact, among them:
- Compare scenarios to identify designs with the highest net impact on profitability.
- Predict yields and labor needs more accurately for better farm planning.
- Analyze costs, revenues and cash flow to support investment and de-risking.
- Optimize species selection for site-specific productivity and environmental outcomes.
End-to-End Biochar Pilots
Building on prior initiatives, our efforts to advance biochar as a scalable, climate-smart solution evolved in 2024 with the launch of a pilot in Tanzania. While earlier work focused on production and field application, this pilot tested the complete biochar value chain, from production to soil application, and the generation of biochar carbon credits.
The pilot was successfully validated by CERES, Carbon Standards International’s independent third-party auditor, confirming both the technical robustness of the production and application processes and the credibility of the carbon accounting methodology. In partnership with Planboo, the pilot generated about 30 verified biochar credits, demonstrating that regenerative soil management can be credibly linked to performance-based climate finance.
As of 2025, 350 farmers in Tanzania had implemented biochar practices under monitored conditions, generating field-level data to validate both agronomic performance and carbon accounting integrity. Across East Africa, an additional 865 farmers in Uganda and 26 farmers in Ethiopia received training and certification in biochar systems, establishing a growing cohort of technically equipped practitioners positioned for expansion.
While still in the early stages of scale, this foundation represents a critical transition from pilot experimentation to a replicable, performance-verified model — one capable of integrating soil restoration, carbon sequestration and diversified income streams. The current footprint provides the technical evidence and institutional preparedness required to responsibly scale biochar adoption across new geographies and value chains.
Data and Innovation for Climate-Resilient and Low-Carbon Agriculture
In Uganda, we advanced innovation and data-driven decision-making in the tea sub-sector as part of a consortium that contributed to the launch of a dedicated tea typology within the Cool Farm Platform’s Perennial Pathway. The tool enables producers and supply chain actors to assess greenhouse gas emissions from tea production more precisely. It also directly addresses the growing need for credible, crop-specific tools to support carbon reporting, regenerative agriculture and broader environmental targets. Solidaridad also piloted a revised version of its Climate Adaptation Index (CAI) tool across three projects, strengthening our ability to measure and monitor climate adaptation in a structured, evidence-based way. Integrated into our digital systems, this tool combines climate risk and vulnerability assessments with standardized, data-driven metrics to track farmer resilience and progress over time. The pilot captured farmers’ experiences and insights, enhancing the tool’s contextual relevance and generating actionable knowledge to inform future interventions. It will also improve targeting of climate-smart practices, and drive measurable resilience, environmental and livelihood outcomes at scale.
Throughout the year, Solidaridad realized notable progress through the integration of gender-transformative approaches informed by gender analyses. Across the region, we employed proven methodologies such as the Gender Action Learning Systems (GALS), the Economic and Social Empowerment (EA$E), Engaging Men in Accountable Practices (EMAP) and the Start Awareness and Support Action (SASA) to challenge and change negative gender and social norms that discriminate against women, youth and marginalized groups. As a result of these interventions, we observed a 65% to 80% shift towards joint decision-making among couples and an increase in joint ownership of resources to over 60% in selected regions.
Inclusive Participation Across Value Chains
Our approach ensured that 40% of participants were women, youth and other marginalized groups, actively engaging them in climate-smart agriculture, financial services and enterprise development. By supporting these groups along value chains, we not only enhanced their participation in production, service delivery and markets but also positioned them to exercise leadership and increase economic gains, strengthening both social and financial agency.
Expanding Enterprise and Access to Finance
In Tanzania, our interventions strengthened 50 women’s and youth’s Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs), enhancing savings, entrepreneurial skills and access to affordable loans. Complementary initiatives supported 373 women in establishing small enterprises (162 in tree nurseries and 211 in apiary businesses), while targeted training in climate-smart agriculture and agroforestry reinforced VSLA activities. Together, these integrated efforts advanced livelihoods, resilience and economic empowerment, positioning women and youth as active drivers of sustainable value chains.
Promoting Leadership, Employment and Household Resilience
In Ethiopia, our interventions advanced women’s leadership, youth employment and household resilience. In the dairy sub-sector, Solidaridad invested in the installation of biogas systems for 10 women-led households, improving energy access and promoting organic fertilizer use. Six female-headed households received improved dairy barns, increasing milk yields and reducing labor. The Dairy Service Hub model created employment for 16 women (ages 18-34) in roles like milk collectors, accountants and hub managers, enhancing youth economic participation and women’s meaningful participation in the dairy sector. Across dairy cooperatives, 10 women assumed key leadership positions, strengthening governance and decision-making. In food crops, we trained 2,799 women and 30 youth in climate-smart agriculture and supported women-led vegetable businesses, fostering nutritious kitchen gardens and resilient crop production. These efforts were supported by periodic advocacy messaging dissemination in local languages.
Strengthening Economic Empowerment and Market Integration
In Uganda, 617 households were strengthened with economic and social skills within the cocoa supply chain, helping women and youth to diversify their incomes through small-scale businesses, bricklaying, food selling and livestock rearing. Market access and service delivery were strengthened through B2B linkages, market negotiations and capacity building, connecting producer groups with off-takers and supporting women and youth in negotiating market relationships. Women’s tea platforms enabled tea farmers to access lucrative specialty markets, significantly increasing household income and reinforcing participation in high-value, climate-resilient value chains.
Advancing Skills, Financial Inclusion and Gender Norms
In Kenya, 5,200 (3,000 women and 2,200 youth) received training in climate-smart maize farming, resulting in the adoption of sustainable practices across 9,596 hectares. The project also strengthened market access through B2B engagements and capacity building of aggregation groups, enabling farmers to connect more effectively with buyers. Complementing these efforts, 1,231 women benefited from financial literacy programs and VSLA, enhancing savings, business skills and financial knowledge. Positive shifts in gender norms were achieved through 68 (35 women and 33 youth) gender champions, who reached 315 households, addressing decision-making power, resource access and equitable participation. In artisanal and small-scale gold mining, 25 women received training in the Economic and Social Empowerment methodology, reaching 670 women and improving financial management, VSLA participation and enterprise skills.
Prefinancing Agroforestry Investments
Building on the foundations established between 2021 and 2024, we continued to scale our integrated agroforestry and climate financing model in 2025. Over the year, we pre-financed 10,000 coffee farmers and distributed 400,000 shade tree seedlings, bringing the cumulative regional total to 2.65 million (2.2 million in Uganda and 450,000 in Kenya).
Tree species were carefully selected through needs-based assessments conducted with farmers and national regulatory authorities to ensure ecological compatibility and alignment with farm-level priorities. In Uganda, distributed species included Coriaria, Cordia africana, Grevillea, Calliandra calliandra, Ficus spp. and Sesbania; in Kenya, species included Albizia coriaria, Grevillea, Cordia africana, Ficus spp., Calliandra calliandra, Lucaena, macadamia and Sesbania. Our targeted approach supported agroforestry adoption, improved shade management and strengthened the long-term viability of climate financing interventions.
Seedling survival rates averaged 80%, demonstrating strong early uptake. To further improve outcomes, Solidaridad will facilitate timely distribution of mature seedlings and expand farmer training in climate-smart agriculture while generating actionable insights to optimize future prefinancing decisions.
As demand for seedling pre-financing continued to grow, similar needs emerged for increased farm inputs, value addition, working capital and household support. These needs highlight the critical role of integrated financing solutions in strengthening overall farmer resilience and productivity, and creating scalable, sustainable pathways for investment.
Loan Management and Carbon Finance
Between 2021 and 2025, Solidaridad co-developed an input pre-financing portfolio to catalyze farmer investment in agroforestry. In 2025, €669,000 in loans were disbursed, bringing the cumulative portfolio to €1.215 million, directly supporting 44,836 farmers. The loan structure incorporates a three-year grace period to allow for biomass accumulation and carbon revenue generation, ensuring farmers have sufficient time to realize returns before repayment. Until December 2025, carbon revenue had reached €550,984 in Uganda and €36,784 in Kenya. As the first cohort of farmers reaches the end of the grace period, subsequent Carbon Removal Unit (CRU) sales and corresponding loan recoveries are scheduled for 2026, representing a critical step toward a self-sustaining, climate-linked financing model.
Turning Data, Incentives and Payments into Action
In 2025, Solidaridad deployed a suite of digital solutions to connect productivity, climate action, decent work and access to inputs, services and markets across priority supply chains. Beyond simple digitization, these tools were designed to incentivize sustainable production, enhance transparency and improve inclusion and market participation.
Digitizing Cooperative Governance and Market Access
In partnership with five Ugandan coffee cooperatives (Buweswa, Lwabange, Busoga Kyamulibwa, Balandiza Kimeze Bukulula and Kyosiga), Solidaridad implemented a Cooperative Management Information System. This supported a transformation of paper-based processes through an integrated platform for member, farm, financial and production data management. By embedding digital workflows, advisory services, e-marketplace access and payment systems, the CMIS positions cooperatives to strengthen their governance, accountability and market engagement.
Digitalizing cooperative operations through the CMIS generates actionable insights that drive informed decision-making at all levels. This evidence-based approach supports the professionalization of cooperatives, enhancing their capacity to manage operations efficiently, respond to member needs and scale services effectively, while providing a model for replication across small-scale value chains.
At the same time, Solidaridad made strategic investments to strengthen the region’s capacity for greenhouse gas emissions monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV), enabling more data-driven, climate-smart decision-making across small-scale value chains. The MRV dashboard was enhanced with updated models from the Cool Farm Platform, which were piloted and validated in collaboration with the Cool Farm Alliance’s Technical Working Group. Insights from these pilots are informing ongoing refinements, ensuring that the system delivers accurate, actionable data that can guide both farm-level practices and broader climate strategies.
In Ethiopia’s dairy subsector, the tool provided the evidence base to guide targeted interventions where baseline emission intensity was high; 2.37 kg CO₂e per liter of milk due to low productivity, sub-optimal feed and poor manure management. Deployment of targeted interventions such as improvements in breed quality through AI, feed optimization and manure management drove notable reductions in emission intensity. By October 2025, small-scale dairy farmers achieved up to a 61% reduction, lowering emissions to 0.92 kg CO₂e per liter of milk and demonstrating the potential for low-carbon growth when systemic barriers are addressed. MRV data also highlighted the primary emission sources, enteric fermentation, feed and manure, enabling prioritization of interventions and measurement of tangible climate impact.
Continued enhancements will support data-driven decision-making at both the cooperative and farm levels, enabling more effective tracking of emissions and informing climate-smart practices. The dashboard generates insights on emission trends, demographic and cooperative performance comparisons and the environmental impact of different dairy farming interventions.
Digital Loan Management for Scalable Carbon Finance
Building on our efforts to scale inclusive carbon farming, Solidaridad developed a Farmers Payment and Loan Management System to streamline input pre-financing, loan management and carbon revenue flow. The platform strengthens transparency, fairness and accountability, addressing persistent barriers that limit small-scale farmers’ participation in climate finance initiatives while supporting efficient implementation of our carbon farming initiatives.
The system integrates farmer profiles, digital wallets, loan applications, automated deductions and portfolio management tools with mobile money verification and end-to-end payment processing across Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The system reduces administrative complexity and financial risk. It ensures timely access to inputs, reliable payments and structured loan recovery. This enables farmers to participate in carbon farming with confidence.
As a core component of Solidaridad’s digital ecosystem, the platform will enhance real-time tracking of disbursements, repayments and carbon revenues, supporting robust financial management, evidence-based decision-making and scalable, sustainable investment in farmer-led climate solutions.
Organization and Governance
Strengthening Regional Presence and Capacity
In 2025, Solidaridad consolidated its regional presence through enhanced workspace and collaborative infrastructure, alongside strengthened technical leadership. These strategic developments positioned the organization to deliver innovative, scalable and resilient supply chain development solutions, deepen engagement with partners and generate meaningful, measurable impact for small-scale producers across East and Central Africa
Strengthening Our Regional Presence and Capacity
In May, Solidaridad marked a critical milestone in organizational growth by relocating our regional office to Europa Towers, along Lantana Road in Westlands, Nairobi. The move reflected our growing footprint in East Africa and commitment to operational excellence, innovation and collaboration with partners and donors.
Our new regional office is a modern workspace purposefully designed to inspire performance, collaboration and innovation. Featuring open-plan work areas, focus nooks, breakout zones, a mother’s room and fully equipped meeting rooms, the space supports both productivity and the well-being of our teams. It also embodies our organizational values, culture and forward-looking vision.
In addition to serving our internal teams, the office offers a fully furnished lettable space for partners and collaborators, providing access to essential amenities, meeting facilities and flexible work environments. This makes it a strategic hub for partnership, engagement and innovation, reinforcing our commitment to excellence and enabling impactful collaboration across the region.
Strengthening Climate Action Through Technical Leadership
Solidaridad deepened its commitment to climate action by certifying 17 Uganda-based staff as Cool Farm Advisors (CFAs). This strategic investment equipped our team to deliver scalable, data-driven solutions, advancing resilient agricultural transformation across the region.
Central to this initiative is the Cool Farm Tool, a science-based online sustainability calculator that enables farmers and supply chain actors to measure and manage their environmental footprint, specifically greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, water use and biodiversity. The new capacity enabled our certified advisors to translate complex climate data into tailored, climate-smart recommendations that optimize farm performance while reducing emissions, delivering dual value for farmers and markets:
- Farmer Economic Opportunity: Improved emissions tracking empowers small-scale farmers to access carbon markets and green finance, turning climate action into tangible economic benefits while enhancing farm management, productivity and cost efficiency.
- Private Sector Compliance: Our expertise supports corporate partners in achieving Scope 3 emission reductions and aligning with evolving global regulations, including the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence (CSDD) directive.
In 2025, initial GHG assessments were conducted for 561 small-scale coffee farmers across Central and South Western Uganda. These assessments identified major emission hotspots, including crop residue burning and inefficient fertilizer use, directly informing targeted interventions under the Danida-funded Harvesting Carbon project. Measures include residue management (composting and biochar), precision fertilizer application and low-emission logistics, building stronger, climate-resilient farming systems.
In partnership with Planboo, Solidaridad implemented a regional capacity-building initiative in biochar production, equipping 25 staff with the technical expertise needed to guide farmers in adopting this climate-smart practice. The training also covered digital Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (DMRV) systems, ensuring high-quality biochar production and accurate carbon accounting for transparency and integrity in carbon markets.
By building this in-house expertise, Solidaridad positioned itself as a strategic partner, providing farmers with hands-on guidance to integrate biochar into their farming systems, improving soil health, boosting productivity and strengthening livelihoods. Leveraging the carbon-sequestration potential of biochar also aligns with global climate goals, supporting sustainable and regenerative agriculture across the region.
Through these initiatives, Solidaridad continued to demonstrate its commitment to practical, scalable and environmentally sustainable solutions for small-scale farmers.
| Staff in East and Central Africa | Female | Male | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ethiopia | 4 | 14 | 18 |
| Kenya | 24 | 19 | 43 |
| Tanzania | 8 | 8 | 16 |
| Uganda | 12 | 12 | 24 |
| Total staff count | 48 | 53 | 101 |
Building an Inclusive, High-Performing Workforce for Regional Impact
In 2025, Solidaridad strengthened its human capital framework to cultivate a skilled, inclusive and high-performing workforce across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Ethiopia. Key initiatives prioritized gender equity, talent development, ethical governance and cross-country collaboration, ensuring that the organization is strategically positioned to deliver measurable impact, drive sustainable value and reinforce organizational resilience across the region.
Inclusive Leadership and Gender Equity
Targeted interventions increased female representation in leadership and management roles, supported by mentorship and career development programs. At least three women assumed senior and project management positions, strengthening an inclusive leadership pipeline that drives equitable decision-making and operational excellence.
Learning, Development and Knowledge Exchange
Solidaridad launched a structured learning and development framework to guide continuous skills development, knowledge sharing and cross-learning across the region. Throughout the year, six staff engaged in training on technical expertise, project management and evidence-based decision-making. Cross-country learning initiatives further enhanced collaboration, innovation and knowledge sharing, equipping teams to deliver more integrated, high-quality programming outcomes.
Enabling Foundations: Systems, Digitalization and Integrity
Workforce integration and standardized HR processes were central to strengthening our regional cohesion and operational effectiveness. Harmonized HR systems ensured consistent practices across all country offices, while deliberate workforce integration improved coordination, efficiency and the overall employee experience. Together, these efforts enabled more aligned programming and strengthened execution against regional strategic priorities.
In parallel, the deployment of digital HR tools streamlined recruitment, performance management and workforce planning, enhancing efficiency and transparency in talent management. A strong focus on skills-based recruitment and succession planning further strengthened organizational readiness to respond to evolving demands and scale impact sustainably.
These efforts were reinforced by strengthened integrity frameworks, which embedded accountability and transparency across operations. The timely and transparent resolution of reported issues fostered trust and confidence among staff and partners, ensuring a strong institutional foundation for credible and effective program delivery.
Together, these initiatives positioned Solidaridad as a forward-looking, inclusive and staff-centered organization. Progress in leadership diversity, workforce development and ethical governance underscored our strong commitment to equity, sustainability and operational excellence, giving partners confidence in our capacity to deliver impactful and scalable programs across East and Central Africa.
Awards
In 2025, Solidaridad East and Central Africa gained regional recognition for its impact and sector leadership, including a nomination for the 2025 NGO Awards in the “Best in Agriculture” category. This recognition reinforced our growing profile and role in driving transformative, scalable change across small-scale farming and mining systems. Our Managing Director, Ms. Rachel Wanyoike, continued to receive recognition for her exceptional leadership. In 2025 she received the Woman on Board Award at the 5th Annual Women on Boards Network Kenya Awards. She was honored alongside the Woman Chairperson of the Year, Kellen Kariuki, Chairperson of Standard Chartered Bank Kenya; and the 1st Runner-Up, Sharon Kisire, Outgoing Chairperson of the Human Resource Management Professionals Examinations Board. This accolade reinforced her consistent track record in inclusive governance, strategic decision-making and accountability, signaling to partners and donors the stability and high-caliber leadership driving Solidaridad East and Central Africa’s impact and growth.
Events
High-level sector platforms were leveraged to translate project insights into influence. Solidaridad participated in 10+ major forums, including the EU-Kenya Business Forum 2025, Africa Food Systems Summit, African Fine Coffees Association (AFCA), 4th African Sourcing and Fashion Week(ASFW), the Nyanza Gold Summit, Eastern Africa Regional Carbon Market Dialogue, Chongqing International Coffee Festival, SAI Platform and the 2025 P4G Hanoi Summit, delivering two speaking engagements and engaging more than 2,000 stakeholders directly and 31,000 indirectly while reaching more than 200,000 through media and digital amplification.
Key achievements included the launch of Kenya’s first organic coffee at the TRACE Kenya end-of-project meeting and the Association of Women in Tea Uganda securing market access for specialty tea. These milestones positioned Solidaridad as a catalyst for sustainable production and responsible sourcing, demonstrating how strategic visibility can unlock market opportunities, strengthen producer influence and shape policy engagement for small-scale farmers.
Additionally, the International Day of Women in Mining was celebrated through a women-led event in collaboration with the Association for Women in Energy and Extractives in Kenya (AWEIK), highlighting Solidaridad’s role in promoting gender inclusion, recognition and leadership in traditionally male-dominated value chains.
Campaigns
Responsible Mining and Child Protection & Producer-Led Sector Transformation
In partnership with the Uganda Association of Artisanal and Small-scale Miners (UAASMA), Solidaridad spearheaded a media campaign to amplify critical child labor and safety challenges in Uganda’s artisanal and small-scale mining sector. At a time when many children were actively engaged in gold mining and processing, and miners were frequently exposed to hazardous chemicals like mercury without protective equipment, this intervention addressed urgent human rights and occupational safety concerns.
The campaign leveraged three radio talk shows and interviews with multiple national media outlets, creating broad platforms for dialogue on responsible mining practices, child protection and safe chemical handling. Through these efforts, the campaign reached an estimated 500,000 people, raising awareness of the dangers of mercury exposure, promoting safer mining practices and reinforcing the importance of keeping children in school.
This initiative also highlighted Solidaridad’s mobilization capacity in driving producer-led systemic change, combining advocacy, behavior change communication and multi-stakeholder engagement. The goal of this approach is to enhance community safety, uphold child rights and strengthen the governance of artisanal mining value chains.International commemoration days also provided complementary amplification, linking Solidaridad’s work to community and regional sustainability conversations. Campaigns for International Coffee Day, World Cotton Day, the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, World Bamboo Day and the International Day for Women in Mining amplified project-promoted solutions and achievements by championing dialogues that emphasized producer agency and leadership. These campaigns reached an estimated 5,000 stakeholders, reinforcing Solidaridad’s thought leadership, demonstrating producer-led impact and connecting local solutions to global audiences.
Driving Impact Through Evidence, Learning and Adaptive Programming
Solidaridad remained committed to evidence-based programming across the region. During the year, we undertook a series of internal and external evaluations across agriculture, climate and mining value chains. These assessments provided robust insights into program effectiveness, validated key strategic assumptions and informed adaptive management to strengthen impact at scale.
Across interventions, findings consistently affirmed that sustainable transformation is most effective when small-scale producers are at the center, supported by coordinated action from civil society, private sector actors and public institutions. An internal evaluation of our RECLAIM Sustainability! programme confirmed the relevance of this multi-pathway approach, demonstrating that strengthened civil society actors evolved from fragmented participation to coordinated, evidence-based engagement. This shift enabled more consistent and credible contributions to sector governance, with sustained dialogue platforms proving significantly more effective than one-off advocacy efforts. At the same time, multi-stakeholder platforms enhanced public sector responsiveness, contributing to improved policy awareness, clearer reform priorities and more inclusive decision-making processes.
At the production level, evaluations highlighted tangible improvements in both productivity and resilience. Midline results of our maize initiatives in Kenya showed a 15% increase in average maize production, alongside 92% adoption of climate-smart agriculture practices and 90% uptake of hermetic storage technologies, underscoring strong farmer responsiveness to integrated technical support. Similarly, an endline evaluation of our food security project in Ethiopia and Kenya recorded a significant reduction in food insecurity, with the proportion of farmers reporting food shortages declining from 60% to 38.1%, alongside increased participation of women farmers from 51% to 56.8%. These outcomes demonstrate the effectiveness of combining technical assistance with improved service linkages, although high production costs remain a critical constraint requiring continued attention.
Beyond productivity gains, the evaluations underscore the importance of strengthening market systems and economic resilience. Evidence showed that 75% of households diversified their income sources, reducing vulnerability to climate and market shocks. However, persistent disparities in access to structured markets and high-value opportunities, particularly for women and youth, highlighted the need for more inclusive business models and targeted support mechanisms. This was mirrored by more recent baseline findings for a solar-drying technology project in Kenya, where strong willingness to adopt innovations such as solar dryers (83%) is constrained by limited financing and capacity, reinforcing the importance of integrated market and financing solutions.
Climate-focused assessments further positioned smallholder systems as critical entry points for mitigation and adaptation. In Uganda, a Scope 3 greenhouse gas assessment in cocoa systems revealed a relatively low emissions profile of 0.71 tCO₂e per hectare, with significant mitigation potential through improved crop residue management, which accounts for over 98% of emissions. Similarly, a coffee carbon footprint analysis identified key emission drivers, particularly fertilizer use and residue management, while also demonstrating the positive role of soil carbon sequestration in offsetting emissions. These findings provided a clear pathway for aligning small-scale production with emerging global climate and regulatory frameworks, while unlocking opportunities for carbon-linked incentives.
In parallel, targeted evaluations in ASM highlighted both progress and structural challenges. Whereas efforts to improve environmental performance and formalization gained traction, assessments in Tanzania underscored the deeply embedded nature of issues such as child labor, driven by systemic poverty and limited livelihood alternatives. These insights reinforce the need for integrated, cross-sectoral approaches that address both economic and social drivers of vulnerability. Importantly, innovation pilots continued to demonstrate scalable pathways for impact. A biochar pilot in Uganda, for instance, achieved a 14.6% increase in tea yields compared to control plots while reducing dependence on synthetic fertilizers, offering a compelling model for climate-smart intensification. Similarly, women-led specialty tea enterprises under the RECLAIM programme unlocked premium markets, with product prices increasing from below USD 1/kg to up to USD 100/kg, illustrating the transformative potential of combining value addition, market access and inclusive organization. Collectively, these insights reinforced our strategic positioning as a partner delivering data-driven, adaptive and scalable solutions.
Finance
Income
| Income | |
|---|---|
| Income from individuals | € 0 |
| Income from companies | € 634,713 |
| Income from lottery organizations | € 0 |
| Income from government grants | € 588,087 |
| Income from non-profit organizations | € 406,768 |
| Income from other organizations | € 14,205 |
| Other income | € 17,375 |
| Total direct income | € 1,661,148 |
| Income from related (Solidaridad) organizations | € 3,795,907 |
| TOTAL INCOME | € 5,457,055 |
In 2025, Solidaridad East and Central Africa generated €5.5 million in total income, a decrease from 2024. While this followed the successful completion of three EU-funded projects in Ethiopia and Tanzania and the conclusion of a DANIDA-supported coffee initiative in Kenya, it highlights our ability to transition smoothly between project cycles. Throughout the year, strategic partnerships with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the World Bank, the Louis Dreyfus Foundation, the National Oil Palm Project (IFAD), DANIDA and others played a pivotal role in sustaining program delivery, driving impact and enabling the scaling of interventions across the region. These collaborations provided not only essential financial resources but also technical guidance, policy engagement support and co-design opportunities, underpinning the effectiveness and long-term sustainability of our climate-smart agriculture, value chain and social inclusion initiatives.
Despite the contraction in project income, our sustained engagement with our core partners and the cultivation of new relationships with Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 (P4G), BASF Nunhems, GIZ, FAO, German Postcode Lottery, Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) and Conservation International ensured that Solidaridad maintained operational continuity. This expanded programmatic reach while reinforcing its long-term strategic position in driving sustainable development outcomes for small-scale farmers, miners and workers across the region.
Expenditure
| Expenses | |
|---|---|
| Activity costs | € 2,269,117 |
| Other costs | € 467,490 |
| Partners and consultants | € 600,000 |
| Employee expenses | € 2,120,447 |
| Balance to be paid | |
| Total direct expenses | € 5,457,054 |
| Expenditure to Solidaridad entities | € 21,065 |
| Total expenditures | € 5,478,119 |
Total expenditure in 2025 was €5.5 million, reflecting strategic investments in project implementation and the acquisition of a regional head office to strengthen operational capacity. Spending remained closely aligned with our mission, ensuring that resources directly supported programmatic impact, operational efficiency and long-term sustainability. Key allocations focused on scaling climate-smart agriculture, artisanal mining interventions, gender and social inclusion initiatives and capacity-building programs. Through disciplined financial management and ongoing collaboration with both core and new strategic partners, Solidaridad reinforced its financial resilience while continuing to deliver measurable outcomes that benefit communities across the region.