Mkulima Hub: Kabarak University students create all-in-one smart agriculture digital platform

Huldah Moraa, Ivy Muthoni, Nathan Kimutai and Dylan Kibet from Kabarak University are transforming farming in Nakuru, one innovation at a time. They have joined a group of young innovators to develop groundbreaking solution to some of the most pressing agricultural challenges.

Their platform, Mkulima Hub, is a unified platform combining a smart greenhouse, an AI-powered disease diagnosis system and a digital agri-marketplace.

While showcasing their innovation at the National Research Festival held at Egerton University, the team explained that the inspiration behind it came from the fact that more than 10 million Kenyans face food insecurity each year.

At the same time, fewer than six percent of farmers currently use technology in their farming, and water wastage, low productivity and high costs remain significant hurdles.

“We wanted to create a single solution that addresses these problems without overwhelming farmers with too many fragmented apps,” explains Kimutai.

Mkulima Hub integrates three tools into one dashboard. The first is the GreenTech Smart Greenhouse, which uses Internet of Things (IoT) sensors and automation to make greenhouse farming efficient, smart and remotely controllable.

The second tool is the AI Crop Disease Detection System, which uses computer vision to identify plant diseases at an early stage, providing treatment recommendations before entire crops are destroyed.

The Agri-Marketplace App also connects farmers with buyers, input suppliers, and support services, enabling the seamless trade of produce and farm inputs across the country.

According to Moraa, it is the integration of these systems that makes the innovation unique.

“With one login, a farmer can monitor crops, diagnose diseases and sell produce all in one place. Centralised data also makes decision-making faster and more accurate,' she says.

She highlights the system’s cross-functional features, such as linking disease diagnoses to product recommendations, which enhance its usability even further.

Moraa adds that the marketplace relies on commission-based payments to generate revenue without burdening users with upfront costs.

Meanwhile, Kimutai says that the greenhouse and disease detection systems are offered via a subscription model with tiered access for basic, advanced and institutional users.

“Our goal is to keep the platform affordable while ensuring it can sustain itself in the long term,” he says.

As most farmers seek to modernise their food systems and adapt to climate change, he says that solutions like Mkulima Hub could offer them much-needed support.

By combining technology, data, and market access in one tool, these young innovators are reimagining how agriculture can be done.