Location: Machakos County, Kenya
Crops: Maize, beans, poultry, goats, and cattle
Program: TomorrowNow Climate SMS Advisory in partnership with KALRO
For farmer Susan Chemutai, who manages 10 acres of land in Kenya, farming has been a way of life for nearly two decades.
“My name is Susan Chemutai,” she says. “I’m married. I have a husband and two sons. I’ve been farming for almost 20 years. As you can see, I am currently 50 years old.”
Over the years, Susan has faced growing challenges with unpredictable rainfall. “There are a lot of challenges. The first challenge is weather. The rains come unexpectedly, and the rainy seasons are short.. The rains are very scarce, and the weather conditions are hot,” she explains.
“The change in weather conditions that has occurred recently is not too bad. But in previous years, three years ago, there was no rain, and it was very hot. I had a lot of trouble with the lack of animal feed, and all these problems were due to the lack of rain.”
To adapt, Susan began using weather and farming messages from TomorrowNow’s Digital Climate Advisory Service, delivered via the Kenyan government partner, KALRO. “These messages have helped us a lot by giving us farming advice. If you follow these instructions well, you will harvest well. It has helped me a lot because I have harvested maize, beans and there has never been a day when my family has lacked food. Good farming has also enabled me to sell other crops, and life is going well.”
“The DCAS messages provide support to my farming activities from start to finish. This includes weather information, advice about what to do right from planting to post-harvest storage,” she says. “I receive messages starting from the time I prepare the field before planting the seeds. The messages tell me how to cultivate the field and plant the seeds properly. Later, I received messages about how to fertilize, monitor and weed the field and also reminders about pest control. These messages inform me about every step from planting the seeds to harvesting the crops.”
“Weather information is very important because if you plant early, you will reap a good harvest. But if you plant late, you will be left behind by the growing season.”
Susan’s yields have dramatically improved since she began following the advice. “A while ago, we were harvesting as little as 10 bags, 8 bags, 7 bags per 10 acres. But when we started following the DCAS messages, it taught us many things about good farming, like good agronomic practices, for example, information on the spacing of seeds in the soil. My yield has now increased from 10 bags to 50 bags. And the evidence is there (points to the maize store), you will be able to see with your own eyes.”
The results have transformed her home and livelihood. “I sell the maize and as you can see, the roofing on that structure (pointing to a newly constructed house within the compound) was funded by proceeds from my maize sales. I do not have any child that’s still schooling, but I am able to manage the domestic affairs within this homestead including procurement of the labor I need.”
Susan’s leadership has inspired her neighbors. “For those who visit me, I usually share my learnings with them so that they can use me as an example to farm better and increase their yields. Neighbors who’ve followed my advice have made lots of gains on their farms.”
And she continues to seek new ways to grow: “In fact I was asking imechelewa kwa nini? labda kuna new techniques tunaweza weka in practice.”
With targeted, timely DCAS and KALRO agroweather messages, Susan has turned weather uncertainty into resilience—ensuring food security, improving her home, and helping others around her thrive.
About TomorrowNow:
TomorrowNow makes agro-met intelligence accessible and useful for smallholder farmers. It combines advanced climate, satellite and AI models with national weather and agricultural systems to turn forecasts into practical advice – including climate-smart planting windows and season-long agro-weather guidance.
Working with partners like national meteorological agencies, research institutes and farmer-facing delivery organisations, TomorrowNow supports governments and delivery partners to integrate weather and climate services into national systems, farmer registries and programs. Its services already reach more than 5 million farmers in Kenya, with evidence of improved yields and more resilient harvests in regions facing degraded soils and increasingly erratic rains – ensuring no one is left behind in the fight against climate change.
TomorrowNow is a visionary 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
Spokesperson Available:
Wanjeri Mbugua, Chief Executive Officer, is available for interviews, commentary, and speaking engagements on climate resilience, agroweather innovation, and inclusive adaptation strategies.
Learn more at www.tomorrownow.org or follow us on LinkedIn.