The coastal lowlands of Kenya lie in the south-eastern part of the country and cover an area of about 80 000 km2. The poor nutrition of dairy cows is a major constraint facing the dairy industry in the region. Available feed resources are inadequate in both quantity and quality and rarely meet the nutrient requirements of lactating cows. Because improved grasses and legumes can potentially contribute significantly to the nutrition of dairy cows, efforts have been undertaken since the early 1970s to identify and introduce suitable species to farmers. Pennisetum purpureum Schumach. was identified as a suitable fodder grass for the region, Clitoria ternatea L. as a suitable herbaceous legume and Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) De Wit and Gliricidia sepium (Jacq.) Walp. as suitable fodder shrubs. Forage productions systems were developed using these species and were promoted in smallholder dairy farms in the region. Adoption of the forage production systems was not high. Farmers tended to modify the research recommendations for production of the forages to suit their farming systems and practices. Availability of planting materials, extension methodology and institutional support appeared critical to dissemination and adoption of the forages.