The government intends to complete the digital soil testing exercise within the next six months, Principal Secretary, State Department of Agriculture, Dr Paul Ronoh has said.
“We have employed seven youths per ward, and as we speak, we have completed seven counties. We hope to finish the remaining 40 counties within six months with the support of donors and county governments,” said Ronoh.
He added: “We are in the process of undertaking soil analysis to generate soil data that will be publicly available and serve as a public good in Kenya's soil innovation system.”
PS Ronoh was speaking on Tuesday during an interview with the media after officially opening the two-day Data for Soil Health and Scale Summit taking place in Westlands.
The summit, organised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock and the World Bank, brings together private players, the national government, innovators, county governments, and development partners to discuss how to improve the country’s soil health through data sharing.
It comes a few months after Kenya hosted the Africa Fertiliser and Soil Health (AFSH) Summit in May last year in Nairobi.
That summit resulted in the Nairobi Declaration, in which five commitments were made on soil health, with a major pledge to reverse land degradation and restore soil health on at least 30 percent of degraded land by 2034 through five key actions.
The digital soil testing exercise began in February this year, led by the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO) in collaboration with county governments and the Ministry of Agriculture.
It aims to collect and analyse over 77,000 soil samples from farms across the country.
The PS, who said Kenya’s soil is in a “very bad situation, nearing mortuary,” noted that only after the exercise is complete will the government begin implementing the recently launched Fertiliser and Soil Health Implementation Plan under the Nairobi Declaration.
He said there is now a policy framework on soil health, and the government is also working on a Soil Management Bill, which is currently in the process of being enacted.
According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) 2019 report, 20 percent of the planet's vegetation has suffered a fall in productivity due to declining soil fertility.
“Africa has seen a significant long-term drop in the quality of its soils, and this phenomenon continues to have a detrimental effect on the continent's food and nutrition security,” said Ronoh.
He said it is estimated that acid soils in Kenya occupy about 13 percent of the total land area and that 9 percent of Kenya's arable land—approximately 7 million acres—is strongly acidic.
The PS said Kenya, like other African nations, has committed to tripling domestic production and distribution of certified quality organic and inorganic fertilisers by 2034 to improve access and affordability for smallholder farmers.
“This can only be fast-tracked by raising the demand for fertiliser, which can be achieved by demonstrating value for money in its application,” he said.
He explained that Kenya has adopted technology capable of providing information about a particular farmer’s soil within a short period, as opposed to the traditional method of collecting soil samples and sending them to a laboratory, which is time-consuming.
Once soil testing is completed, he said the government will establish the Kenya Soil Information System (KenSIS), an integrated platform designed to collect, store, analyse, manage, and disseminate soil data and information.
KenSIS will be domiciled at KALRO.
According to Parmesh Shah, Global Lead for Digital Agriculture, Data and Innovation at the World Bank, there are currently 16 private sector-led sources of soil health data in Kenya, but they are scattered and working in silos.
Parmesh said the summit aims to bring the 16 data sources onto one platform and reach an agreement on collaboration moving forward.
He warned that failure to act on restoring soil carbon will lead to depressed food production.
“Seventy-five percent of soil in Kenya has now depleted soil carbon, and if we do not restore it to reasonable levels, it will ultimately affect fertility and result in poor food production,” he said.
He added that more than 50 percent of soils in Africa and Kenya are acidic because they do not receive the appropriate type of fertiliser.
Nyeri County Governor Mutahi Kahiga, who chairs the Agriculture Committee at the Council of Governors, said poor soil health is not just an agronomic issue but also an economic, environmental, and national security issue, as it affects agribusiness, food security, and climate resilience.
“It is therefore paramount that agriculture—and especially soil health—is given the much-needed priority,” he said.
He added: “Investment in digital agriculture and soil health innovation remains limited due to fragmented soil data ecosystems, with data being scattered, outdated, and inaccessible for decision-making.”
Kahiga said his county has conducted more than 3,000 soil testing exercises.
Anne Bakilana, Operations Manager for Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Somalia at the World Bank Group, called upon the country to engage the private sector and focus on soil fertility management practices. She urged investment in research and innovation to enhance fertiliser efficiencies through research and precision agriculture technologies, among others.
She said that in Sub-Saharan Africa, soil faces increasing pressure, with over 65 percent of farmland considered degraded due to insufficient soil fertility, nutrient management, erosion, and acidification.
“This declining soil health is closely linked to the region's productivity challenges,” she said.
Even as the government works towards making soil data available, public-private partnerships are key, according to Marisa Soares, Senior Vice President for Innovation and Impact at Yara International Ltd.
“As Yara, we have over 20 years of operation and a wealth of knowledge in crop production and nutrition. The government needs to understand and identify what value each private sector player brings to the table and explore how to collaborate with them to create a win-win situation,” said Ms Soares.
