Kawa Tamu, Regenerative Research Estate Kawa Tamu, Regenerative Research Estate
RegAg research · The missing middle

Good practices stall between the research station and the smallholder

Kawa Tamu tests, fine-tunes and validates practices at commercial scale, so farmers adopt only what is proven and pays.

Research station

Controlled trials under ideal conditions.

Kawa Tamu farm

Validation at scale on a working estate, with a real workforce and real costs.

Smallholders

Adopt only what is proven and pays.

Does it work here?

The gapPractices come from textbooks and are rarely tested in the local context of western Uganda.

Kawa Tamu's answerWe trial and adapt each practice on-farm, and build in elements of indigenous knowledge.

Was it applied correctly?

The gapSmallholder plots are hard to monitor, and many variables obscure the results.

Kawa Tamu's answerStandard farm procedures that low-skilled workers can follow, with detailed records of how each practice was applied and adapted.

Does it pay?

The gapFarmers adopt only what earns money, yet cost data per practice is rarely collected.

Kawa Tamu's answerWe record the full cost and benefit of every practice, which is what drives adoption.

Ongoing trials

Four trials running on-farm

Each trial has a one-pager with its design, treatments and what we measure. More one-pagers follow as trials are written up.

Trial B1Planted Oct 2025

Foliar and bio-input trial on Robusta seedling establishment

Compares vegetative growth and yield of foliar fertilizer and a homemade bio-input against the standard DAP recommendation for new seedlings.

Design
12 rows · 3 inputs (DAP, foliar, lab serum) · 8 combinations, with an untreated control
Measures
Plant height, node count, vigour score, yield per tree from Year 3
PDF
Trial C1 · Blocks B & CPlanted Sept 2026

Cross-pollination screening of five KR Robusta clones

Robusta largely cannot pollinate itself. This trial screens all 10 pairings of KR1, KR3, KR4, KR5 and KR6 for cross-pollination potential under farm conditions.

Design
66 columns in bands of 3 · each clone pair side by side twice · at least 3,498 trees
Measures
Flowering date, intensity and synchrony, fruit set, retention, cherry load
PDF
Cover cropsPlanted Feb 2026

Cover crop selection for native weed suppression and herbicide phase-out

Five cover crops (jack bean, sunn hemp, desmodium, maize and centrosema) planted alongside the coffee to see which can hold ground against couch grass, blackjack and broadleaf weeds.

First result
Jack bean covers roughly half the ground. Desmodium and centrosema barely germinated. Cut-back regrowth is now being tested.
One-pager in preparation Read the field notes
Variety trialRunning

SL14 and SL28 Arabica suitability in Kyenjojo district

Variety trials with SL14 and SL28 to assess whether Kyenjojo district is suitable for Arabica production alongside Fine Robusta.

Question
Can Arabica perform at 1,480 m in the Rwenzori foothills?
One-pager in preparation
Sector dissemination

Five steps from trial plot to sector uptake

The same route carries results from both the RegAg trials and the HREDD pilots.

  1. Smallholder bean plots

    Smallholders growing beans during land clearing and coffee establishment (Year 0 to 2) see and learn.

  2. Open field days

    Nearby farm owners, workers and smallholders see the trials on site and replicate them at home.

  3. Knowledge paper

    Results synthesised in an academic-level paper.

  4. Sector dissemination note

    Core messages extracted for sector stakeholders.

  5. Extension visuals

    Graphic materials that reach a smallholder audience.

Institutional channel

A co-founder is a member of the Uganda Coffee Platform, the EUDR Task Force and the Legality Working Group. Results are channelled through them for institutional impact.

National channel

Impact Lines runs two impact programmes in Uganda that carry results to smallholders and small exporters:

  • CBI climate-smart coffee programme (7 coffee SMEs)
  • Uganda Corporate Landscape Assessment Program, UCLAP (5 international exporters)

Community channel

  • Our network of sister farms nearby
  • An outgrower scheme with nearby smallholders (upcoming)