From Wajir to Marsabit, young scientists are building technology for a drier Kenya
Two student teams from Wajir and Marsabit counties have won the top awards at the 2026 Young Scientists Kenya National Science and Technology Exhibition with innovations designed to tackle drought, water scarcity and food insecurity.
Hafsa Ibrahim Adan and Asha Harun Yarow from Senior Chief Adano Girls Day Secondary School in Wajir County took first place overall with an artificial intelligence-based environmental monitoring system that predicts drought risks for climate-vulnerable communities in northeastern Kenya.
Their system uses sensors to monitor soil moisture, temperature, humidity and rainfall. An AI model analyses the data and generates a drought-risk score, indicating the likelihood of drought and the confidence of the prediction. It also estimates how many days remain before drought conditions are expected to develop.
The students’ innovation is intended to give farmers and communities an early warning that could help them prepare before conditions worsen. The information could be used to adjust irrigation, manage limited water supplies and take measures to protect crops and livestock.
The second place went to Halima Aila Mohamed, Sake Hussein Tadicha and Manal Mohamed from Zad Muslim School in Marsabit County for Eco-Guard, an automated garden system developed to conserve water and improve crop protection in dry conditions.
The system combines a greenhouse structure with automated irrigation and temperature control. A soil-moisture sensor triggers a water pump when the soil becomes too dry and stops it once adequate moisture has been restored. A temperature sensor also controls an automated roof, which opens when temperatures inside the garden rise above a set level.
The projects were among 308 finalists from 125 schools who competed at the ninth Young Scientists Kenya exhibition after more than 1,500 projects were submitted from across the country.
According to Chief Guest Mahboob Bajwa, Deputy Representative for Programmes at UNICEF Kenya, placing young people at the centre of technological development is crucial, adding that AI is changing our societies by providing technological solutions to solve challenges.
The strong performance by students from Wajir and Marsabit comes as the country is facing increasing pressure to develop practical responses to drought, water shortages and climate-related threats to food production. Their projects demonstrated how relatively simple technologies, combined with AI and automation, can be adapted to address challenges in some of the country’s most climate-vulnerable areas.
Girls accounted for the majority of participants at this year’s exhibition and were prominently represented among the winning teams. More than 20 students from refugee camps also participated, with several receiving awards in different categories.
The overall winners will each receive KSh50,000, a fully funded STEM course at Strathmore University and a smartphone. They will also represent Kenya at the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition in Dublin, Ireland.
The winning teams and other category winners will take part in a Young Scientists Kenya STEM Boot Camp, where they will receive support to improve their prototypes, explore intellectual property protection and develop their ideas beyond the competition.
Additionally, Young Scientists Kenya plans to expand its national exhibition next year, with the number of finalists expected to rise from 308 to more than 500. The organization also intends to bring former participants back as mentors after they complete university, enter employment or start businesses.
Since its inception, Young Scientists Kenya said it has reached more than 280,000 students across the country, with the latest competition highlighting the potential of young innovators to develop technology-based solutions to some of Kenya’s most pressing environmental and food-production challenges.
Follow us on WhatsApp, Telegram, Twitter, and Facebook, or subscribe to our weekly newsletter to ensure you don’t miss out on any future updates. Send tips to editorial@techtrendsmedia.co.ke
