Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture and Livestock Development Mutahi Kagwe has launched a national soil health drive dubbed ‘Soilfer’ aimed at changing how Kenyan farmers choose fertiliser, warning that even a subsidised bag is a wasted investment if it does not meet the needs of the soil.

Speaking at the Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) in Kabete, the CS launched the National Soil Partnership, the National Soil Laboratory Network and the national rollout of the Global Soil Doctors Programme. He also handed over the Sh220 million refurbished KALRO Soil Chemistry Laboratories.

“A bag of the wrong fertiliser, delivered on time, at half the price, to the wrong soil, is still the wrong fertiliser,” Kagwe reaffirmed, emphasizing that subsidy without a soil test is sympathy and not strategy.

Kagwe told the gathering that he had once farmed by habit, buying the fertiliser commonly used in his area. A soil test later showed that he had been adding nutrients his land already had while failing to supply those it lacked.

“I was not farming. I was gambling. I was farming blind,” he recalled.

Drawing on his previous experience as Health Cabinet Secretary, the CS compared a soil test to a medical diagnosis. No competent doctor prescribes treatment before examining a patient, he said, yet farmers have long applied the same fertiliser to soils with very different conditions.

Notably, Kagwe pointed out that roughly 63 percent of Kenya’s arable land is acidic and close to seven million acres are strongly acidic. In those areas, he warned, applying fertiliser without first addressing soil acidity can leave farmers spending money without getting the yields they expect.

Further, the CS announced that more than 8 million farmers are registered on the Kenya Integrated Agriculture Management System (KIAMIS), while over 180,000 bags of subsidised fertiliser were moved daily through National Cereals & Produce Board stores and registered outlets at the height of a planting season. The next step, he added, is to make those inputs more precise.

He equally directed KALRO to continue analysing about 77,000 soil samples across 45 counties and to publish county-level soil fertility maps for public use.

In addition, Kagwe mentioned that the Ministry and KALRO will also work towards linking soil test results to KIAMIS so that, over time, a farmer’s subsidy support can reflect what their soil needs.

According to the CS, the refurbished laboratory at Kabete is expected to shorten the time taken to deliver results.

“A soil result that arrives after the rains have come is a historical document, not a farming decision,” stated Kagwe.

In the meantime, the National Soil Partnership will bring together the national government, counties, KALRO, universities, and the private sector to coordinate soil work and share information.

The National Soil Laboratory Network will establish common testing standards, while the Global Soil Doctors Programme will equip farmers to understand their soils and share that knowledge with their neighbours.

To this regard, the CS urged county governments to co-finance soil testing services and bring them closer to farmers.

He also called for greater use of lime where soils are acidic and for farmers to restore organic matter to their land.

He however warned that the crackdown on counterfeit, expired, and substandard farm inputs would continue, saying accurate soil advice is of little use if a product’s contents do not match its label.

Addressing farmers directly, the CS urged them to test their soil before planting, buy the inputs their land needs, and care for it as an asset to pass on to the next generation.

“For a hundred years we have asked our soils what they can give us. Today we begin, at last, to ask them what they need,” he pronounced.

Ultimately, Kagwe appealed to the Public Service Commission to allow KALRO to recruit more researchers, stressing that the institution needs the expertise to make full use of 170 pieces of research equipment expected to arrive.

“We cannot invest in equipment and then lack the people to put it to work. KALRO needs sufficient researchers to turn that investment into practical solutions for our farmers,” he said.

by Michael Omondi