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Kenya Launches National Soil Testing Drive as Acidic Soils Put Fertiliser Efficiency Under Scrutiny
Kenya has launched a nationwide soil health campaign aimed at helping farmers match fertiliser applications with the actual nutrient and acidity conditions of their farms, as the government warns that blanket fertiliser use is limiting the returns farmers get from agricultural inputs.
Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe launched the initiative, dubbed Soilfer, at the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO) centre in Kabete, where he also unveiled the National Soil Partnership, National Soil Laboratory Network and national rollout of the Global Soil Doctors Programme.
The launch included the handover of refurbished KALRO Soil Chemistry Laboratories valued at Sh220 million.
Kagwe said subsidising fertiliser alone would not guarantee higher farm productivity if farmers applied products that did not correspond with the condition of their soils.
“A bag of the wrong fertiliser, delivered on time, at half the price, to the wrong soil, is still the wrong fertiliser,” he said.
The CS said about 63 percent of Kenya’s arable land is acidic, with nearly seven million acres classified as strongly acidic. In such areas, he said, farmers may spend money on fertiliser without achieving the expected yield gains if soil acidity and nutrient deficiencies are not addressed first.
Kagwe used his own farming experience to illustrate the problem, saying he once bought and applied fertiliser based on what was commonly used in his area. A subsequent soil test showed that his farm already had some of the nutrients he was adding while lacking others.
He compared soil testing to medical diagnosis, arguing that farmers should first establish what their land needs before deciding on the appropriate treatment.
The government is now seeking to make soil information more accessible and useful at farm level. KALRO has been directed to continue analysing about 77,000 soil samples collected from 45 counties and develop county-level soil fertility maps that can guide farmers, extension officers and policymakers.
The Ministry of Agriculture and KALRO also plan to explore linking soil test results with the Kenya Integrated Agriculture Management Information System (KIAMIS), potentially allowing future fertiliser support to be informed by the specific requirements of farmers’ soils.
The move comes as the government continues to distribute subsidised fertiliser to farmers. The Ministry recently announced the dispatch of 99,000 metric tonnes of subsidised fertiliser, with farmers accessing the input at Sh2,000 for a 50-kilogramme bag.
Kagwe said more than eight million farmers are registered on KIAMIS, while the National Cereals and Produce Board and registered outlets handled more than 180,000 bags of subsidised fertiliser daily at the height of a previous planting season.
He said the focus must now shift from simply making fertiliser available to ensuring that farmers use the right products in the right quantities and under the right soil conditions.
The refurbished Kabete laboratory is expected to improve the speed at which soil samples are processed. Kagwe stressed that timely results are essential because soil recommendations are most useful when farmers receive them before planting and fertiliser application.
The National Soil Partnership will bring together national and county governments, KALRO, universities and private-sector players to coordinate soil health activities and improve information sharing.
The National Soil Laboratory Network will work towards common testing standards, while the Global Soil Doctors Programme will train farmers to better understand their soils and share soil management knowledge within their communities.
The initiative also places greater emphasis on addressing soil acidity through measures such as appropriate use of agricultural lime and restoration of organic matter.
Kenya’s Agricultural Soil Management Policy has previously identified limited soil-testing infrastructure, high testing costs, shortages of qualified laboratory personnel and inconsistent testing methods among the country’s soil management challenges. The policy also supports site-specific soil analysis and fertiliser selection rather than uniform recommendations.
Kagwe urged county governments to co-finance soil testing and make the services more accessible to farmers. He also warned that the government’s efforts to improve soil recommendations would have limited impact if farmers continued to encounter counterfeit, expired or substandard agricultural inputs.
The CS called on farmers to test their soils before planting, purchase inputs according to their actual requirements and treat soil health as a long-term farm investment.
He also appealed to the Public Service Commission to allow KALRO to recruit additional researchers, saying the organisation needs adequate technical capacity to put new research equipment to productive use.
KALRO already operates digital platforms that provide farmers with soil, crop and agronomic information, including tools for accessing soil data and making location-specific production decisions.
The new soil testing drive therefore seeks to move Kenyan agriculture away from routine fertiliser application towards more targeted soil fertility management, with the government positioning better soil information as a foundation for improving the returns farmers obtain from both subsidised and privately purchased inputs.