How SatSure and KALRO Are Reshaping Agriculture in Kenya: A Satellite-Powered Revolution
Imagine a Kenyan farmer holding a smartphone. With a simple tap, she sees satellite data showing crop health, looming weather risks, and soil conditions—insights that used to be pure guesswork. This is not a distant dream. Thanks to the partnership between India’s Earth Observation (EO) leader SatSure and the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO), these scenarios are springing to life across Kenya.
The Partnership: Turning Data Into Decisions
In August 2025, SatSure and KALRO announced a transformative partnership. Their goal is bold: use advanced satellite imagery, artificial intelligence (AI), and on-the-ground research to drive smarter decisions in Kenyan agriculture. This alliance brings together SatSure’s cutting-edge EO analytics and KALRO’s deep domain expertise to tackle chronic challenges—unpredictable weather, crop diseases, soil degradation, and yield uncertainty.
Together, they aim to shift agriculture from intuition to intelligence. As Dhruva Rajan, SatSure’s Chief Revenue Officer, says:
“We’re thrilled to collaborate with KALRO in bringing cutting-edge geospatial intelligence to Kenya’s agricultural landscape. This strategic partnership marks a significant step toward enabling data-driven policymaking, strengthening food security, and empowering smallholder farmers with near real-time insights into crop health, weather variability, and sustainable practices.”
Salim Kinyimu, ICT Director at KALRO, echoes this enthusiasm:
“Our partnership with SatSure aligns with our vision of integrating technology into agricultural research and extension services. By harnessing satellite-based analytics, we can better understand climate impacts, optimize resource utilization, and empower farmers with precise, timely information.”
Why Now? The Kenyan Context
Kenya’s agriculture faces immense pressures: climate variability, soil health decline, and growing demands for food security. Traditional data collection is slow, fragmented, and often limited by access. Farmers need timely, granular insights—where rainfall is falling, where pests are spreading, and which zones demand fertilizer now, not after the season ends.
That’s where the SatSure–KALRO partnership changes everything.
Satellite Data: From Space to Soil
SatSure’s platform transforms EO satellite imagery into analytics-ready data streams. By combining this capability with machine learning and AI, SatSure delivers sector-specific insights for agriculture—detecting stressed crops, forecasting yields, and assessing soil health. This means Kenya’s farmers and policymakers get near real-time, actionable data tailored to their needs.
Simultaneously, KALRO brings decades of research in crop breeding, livestock management, climate adaptation, and on-ground extension. Their field-tested methods and trust in rural communities make digital adoption much smoother. When SatSure’s digital tools reach KALRO’s networks, insights reach the last-mile farmer.
Early Impact: Projects and Pilots
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between SatSure and KALRO paves the way for pilot projects, joint field research, and the rollout of digital advisory tools. These projects are designed to:
- Monitor crop health using satellite imagery for early detection of stress or disease
- Forecast crop yields months in advance to support better planning
- Analyze soils remotely, suggesting nutrient needs to maximize productivity
- Track weather patterns, helping mitigate the effects of droughts or floods
- Support smallholders with mobile apps and field alerts in local languages
Practical Example: Soil Health Analytics
Through SatSure’s remote sensing, farmers can now receive customized soil health reports, reducing the time and cost of sending physical samples. With KALRO’s expertise, these reports are grounded in science and tailored to local realities. For instance, over 28,000 soil samples are planned for analysis in 2025 as part of field calibration and model validation.
Crop Yield and Food Security
Yield forecasting tools, built on satellite observations, let KALRO and the Ministry of Agriculture identify food security risks much earlier. Authorities can then allocate resources more proactively, minimizing post-harvest losses and improving supply chain resilience.
Recent Developments: Expanding the Satellite Ecosystem
SatSure’s ambition extends beyond Kenya. In June 2025, SatSure inked a strategic alliance with India’s private space leader Dhruva Space. Their agreement aims to deliver full-stack Earth Observation solutions—combining satellite manufacturing, launch services, and downstream analytics. This “one-stop-shop” approach turbocharges the speed and cost-effectiveness of deploying new satellites and accessing Earth Observation data, which could benefit expansions of the Kenya project and more African partnerships going forward.
Furthermore, SatSure’s MoU with Finnish space company ReOrbit (signed March 2024) brings future-ready payload technologies and high-resolution “AI-on-EDGE” imaging into the mix. This Indo-Finnish cooperation could further enrich EO data streams available for joint projects worldwide—opening up possibilities for truly global agricultural support.
KALRO’s 2025 Agri-Tech Push
KALRO’s commitment is clear in the Kenyan budget: over KES 4.5B allocated for research in 2025, with focus areas including:
- Developing and approving new crop varieties for resilience
- Producing over 30 million clean planting materials
- Screening maize for resistance against fall armyworm
- Scaling up digital databases for agri-tech dissemination
This level of investment ensures the SatSure partnership’s tools and insights will be deployed efficiently across major farming zones.
What Does the Future Hold?
Kenya stands at the dawn of a new era in digital agriculture. By next year, we can expect:
- Broader rollout of pilot projects, potentially spanning multiple counties and staple crops
- Deeper integration of satellite analytics into government food security strategies
- Enhanced capacity-building programs for farmers—including digital literacy workshops
- Cross-sectoral benefits, from insurance design to disaster response, enabled by EO data
With SatSure’s global EO expertise and KALRO’s grassroots strength, Kenya could set a standard for African agricultural transformation.
Why This Partnership Matters
Transitioning from intuition-driven agriculture to data-powered farming boosts productivity, reduces risk, and fosters resilience against climate stresses. Farmers, governments, and agribusinesses get better answers—faster.
Now, with the SatSure–KALRO alliance, Kenya’s agricultural sector is equipped with the digital intelligence to thrive in a changing world. This collaboration is not just about technology—it’s about creating lasting impact in the lives of millions.
As the first results trickle in from pilot sites and digital advisories, the hope is that satellite-fueled insights will become as common on Kenyan farms as the soil beneath their feet.
