How degraded soils in Kenya are being restored

Soil degradation in Kenya is a severe problem, impacting on society, livelihoods and nature alike. Peter Murage, agronomist and founder of the NGO Mount Kenya Organic Farming (MOOF-Africa), spoke to us about promoting regenerative farming in Kenya in an area of severe soil degradation. His non-profit organisation carries out research and trains farmers (some of them illiterate) on how to restore degraded soil and helps them to improve productivity in sustainable ways. Thousands of smallholder farmers have been trained, which has a positive impact on food and nutrition security and empowerment. It also contributes to environmental conservation and reduces the dependency on fertilizer industries, that tend to widen the inequality gaps. 

Interview taken by Kathelijne Bonne, 30 May 2022, revised in 2026. 

Mr. Murage, how did you become aware of the problems of soil degradation in Kenya? What is the story behind your NGO?

As so many Kenyans, I have been confronted from a young age with the problem of food security in Africa. I grew up in a peasant family with 10 siblings, and my parents could not provide enough food for all of us. I got concerned and I wanted to know why smallholder farmers were not able to produce enough food for their families. I wondered if it had to do something with the farming methods. 

It sparked my interest and I went on studying Agriculture. Then I started working in the Ministry of Agriculture. I worked with smallholder farmers in food production in many parts of Kenya. I started noticing many things that were not right. No matter how much fertilizer was applied, crop yield did not improve. Also, when more irrigation water was applied, it didn't get better either.

I later realized that the poor crop yields were caused by the poor soil health. The soils were in bad condition. Indeed, the smallholder farmers' soils were degraded by overuse of synthetic fertilizers, hazardous pesticides and herbicides.

"I wanted to know why smallholder farmers were not able to produce enough food for their families."

How bad is soil degradation in Kenya?

Soil degradation in Kenya is extremely high and it is characterised by low fertility, low water holding capacity and lack of organic matter. The soils have a very hard layer (a "hardpan") just below 150 mm depth, and and at the surface the soil shows deep cracks due to excessive loss of soil moisture. Plant roots have difficulty penetrating the hardpan to reach the soil moisture and get access to soil minerals. And due to the hardpan, they are unable to firmly anchor their roots.

Low soil fertility leads to stunted plant growth and low yields. An acre of maize crop, the staple food crop in Kenya on degraded soil produces only 8 bags per acre instead of 20 bags per acre. This contributes to food insecurity. Overuse of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides kills soil life and lowers soil biodiversity. This also has adverse effects on the soil structure. Healthy soil is soft and crumbly, and enables root hairs to spread within the soil structure to absorb water and minerals. Soil degradation is indeed very common on the plots of smallholder farmers.

One way to get an idea of soil health is through measuring its acidity (the pH). The pH affects the way minerals are absorbed through the roots. Degraded soils are often very acid due to the excessive use of synthetic fertilizers and harzadous pesticides that destroy soil life.

What was your idea to reverse the damage done on soils of Kenya?

I wanted to change the industrial farming system to a more sustainable farming system which conserves the environment. I could not change the Agricultural Policies in the government so I resigned. In 2002, I established a Regenerative Agriculture Farmers centre in the outskirts of my home town Nanyuki, about 250 km north of Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.

Your story shows that change has to come from below, from the people. Do you think that by now and after much warnings about soil degradation worldwide, also the Government of Kenya would encourage and fund regenerative farming methods?

This is an interesting matter: The change in agricultural systems in Kenya will have to come from the bottom upwards. This means that non-for-profit organisations such as MOOF-AFRICA, civil society, faith-based organisations and farmers' cooperatives will play a key role to change from an industrial farming system to a more sustainable agriculture system through regenerative agriculture (RA). 

The government is still hesitant to fund RA in Kenya due to lack of proper agricultural policies and research data on how it will increase crop yields as compared to industrial farming. The positive part is that officers of the Ministry of Agriculture extension services are promoting sustainable agriculture through reduced use of synthetic fertilizers, integration of agroforestry systems and use of compost, and cover crops to protect the soil.

(*) Regenerative Agriculture (RA) refers any agricultural activity that improves the resources it uses, rather than destroying or depleting them. Its goals include increasing food production and security while decreasing environmental impact, reversing climate change, increasing soil health and reversing biodiversity loss.

Are there players in the fertilizer industry that benefit from the farmers' dependency on fertilizers and herbicides in Kenya?

The topic about the fertilizer industry is a hot one in Kenya. Some of the people in the government promote industrial farming and use of synthetic fertilizers. They have shares in the lucrative fertilizer industry. Kenya does not manufacture fertilizer but it imports fertilizer from elsewhere. 

The fertilizer market is a money minting business and some government officials, who own companies that import fertilizers into Kenya, would prefer that farmers continue with the industrial way of farming.

Furthermore, farmers have entered into loans and debts, continuously looking for funds to purchase chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, even though it leads to soil degradation and low crop yields. This creates a downward spiral towards food and nutrition insecurity in Kenya and many other places in Africa.

How does a degraded soil look like in Kenya?

Degraded soil in Kenya looks greyish in colour with no or little vegetation cover, with small water gullies on the ground surface. It lacks a the dark/black humus-rich soil horizon with high organic matter content.

How do you share your knowledge through MOOF-Africa?

Giving demonstrations in our training centre turns out to be the most efficient and best received way of disseminating knowledge on farming techniques in Kenya. 

Our demonstrations took shape after an initial feasibility survey carried out together with a Organic Farming organisation from the UK (Ryton Gardens, Coventry, UK, formerly the Henry Doubleday Research Association) in 1998-99. Some of the farmers (average age 63 years) are illiterate, which makes sharing knowledge through demonstrations an excellent way of knowledge interchange.

MOOF-Africa owns a 5-hectare training and demonstration farm to offer Regenerative Organic Agriculture examples, including high value compost making, plant extracts for pest and disease control, agroforestry systems, organic fertilizers (vermiculture), companion planting and ground cover crops. The MOOF Centre is located within the community and is easily accessed by farmers by bike or on foot, without having to pay the bus fare. 

Farmers are invited to field days on which they are introduced to new Regenerative Agriculture systems and they can ask questions. MOOF-Africa also offers back-up support through several extension programmes. Famers are also informed on renewable energy systems and sustainable water management for agriculture, for example, they can conserve water through surface rain-runoff harvesting.

Are the Kenyan smallholder farmers aware that soil degradation is a huge problem? Do they know the causes?

Yes, smallholder farmers are aware about soil degradation in Kenya since they apply synthetic fertilizers only to notice that it doesn't improve the crop yields. It is becoming a trend that before purchasing the seeds, they look for money to purchase expensive synthetic fertilizers, currently at $60USD per 50 kg bag of Diammonium Phosphate (DAP) fertilizer. When it is supposed to rain, but it doesn't, the fertilizers scorches or burns the seeds in the dry soil, which leads to a total crop failure.

Yes, they now know that the causes are the overuse of acidic fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. The soil becomes acidic and devoid of soil life, fertility and productivity decreases. The result is the vicious cycle of synthetic fertilizer dependency.

What they don't know is how to address soil degradation on their farms.

Do they welcome the 'new' ideas of regenerative farming? Or is it better to say that these ideas are not really new but that it was the way of cultivating before colonization, population growth, industrialization, etc.?

Yes, they very much welcome the ideas of regenerative farming and to them this is not new as they used to practice more natural farming techniques before colonisation. Colonisation brought about a green revolution with industrial farming ideas in the form of modern farming systems.

The farmers are obviously not willing to go back entirely to the old ways. They want a farming system which keeps some of good old traditions mixed with modern scientific findings and work towards a stable and sustainable agricultural system.

This is what regenrative agriculture offers the farmers. The idea is that regenerative organic farming will feed the world by making sure that each individual household has enough food and surplus to share with relatives and neighbours.

How does regenerative farming restore soil?

Firstly, regenerative agriculture restores the soil through agroforestry: trees and crops are grown on the same plot. Tree roots open up the soil so that air and water infiltrate easily to the 150 mm soil depth. The tree roots hold soil particles together, preventing soil erosion. 

The canopies protect the soil surface from erosion by water run-off, rain drop impact and wind. Tree leaves fall on the ground, decompose and become part of the soil organic matter, which in turn increases the water holding capacity and moisture content. And as trees and plants absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through photosynthesis and fix it into the soil, the farming system also mitigates climate change.

Secondly, minimum or zero tillage farming restores soil fertility by not exposing the soil and its organisms to the vagaries of weather and by not mechanically disturbing soil structure. Instead, soil pores are naturally opened up by the action of microorganisms and roots, allowing water infiltration and aeration, and creating good soil conditions in which crop roots can develop. This way, soil productivity is increased.

Farmers see the good results of regenerative farming from MOOF. They also learn and see the positive changes from other farmers who already adopted these techniques earlier. MOOF also encourages farmer-to-farmer extension services.

Is the produce of the smallholder farms going to local markets and communities?

The produce of smallholder farmers goes to local and international markets, depending on the categories of produce. Maize, beans, tomatoes, carrots, cabbages, onions and potatoes are generally for local markets. Whereas high value fruits and vegetables are for international markets such as fine beans, sugar snaps, courgettes, salads, herbs and spices. Smallholder farmers are contracted as out-growers by large agricultural companies to produce fresh vegetables and fruits for their export markets.

Are there other problems Kenyan farmers are facing?

Farmers are facing huge problems in meeting their household livelihood demands and many live below the poverty line. Being weak, poor and often illiterate, the smallholder farmer has not much bargaining power and lacks access to information on how to market produce. Most of the produce is sold through middlemen and brokers and much food is lost through long and slow trading chains with many small players (and no cold storage infrastructure). 

There is no traceability, transparency or accountability within the food supply chains. The farmer is at the mercy of a large and opaque soup of players in which the farmer's wellbeing and the "healthy food for all" idea is not a priority. These are just a few of many problems.

Smallholder farmers do not have much bargaining power and are at the mercy of a large and opaque soup of players.

Is it difficult to do what you do in Kenya?

No, it is not difficult to promote regenerative organic agriculture in Kenya among smallholder farmers in Kenya. I'm getting a lot of positive feedback. Farmers are looking up to MOOF for the solutions we offer.

But MOOF lacks the capacity and funding to fully achieve its goals, the government does not fund regenerative agriculture in Kenya.

Now we are in the process to helping farmers to move on from purely subsistence farming to more innovative and sustainable agrobusiness systems through our Kikapu Organic vegetables initiative. This will help us to generate funds to support our operations and create a safe and healthy food production system within a transparent network of smallholder farmers, processors and aggregators (MOOF) and customers.

Are there more Kenyan agronomists having a positive impact? Do you notice that awareness is growing?

Yes, more agronomists in Kenya are looking out for agricultural crop production systems with reduced synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, aiming at achieving minimum pesticide residue levels. The farmers produce to comply with the Global G.A.P. Certification (GAP), Organic Certification (NOP and EU markets).

There is also growing awareness of food produced through regenerative agriculture in the local middle-class population, the export markets and the vulnerable local communities. 

They are all looking for safe and healthy foods, because lifestyle diseases are on the rise, e.g. cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity. People want to know where their food is coming from, how it was produced, what the impacts on the environment are. Logically, they also want healthy and sustainable food to be reasonably priced. MOOF promotes food traceability, transparency, accountability, continuity and high-quality farm produce for both local and international markets.

Are the objectives of MOOF-Africa about farming alone?

No, the aim of the organization goes well beyond farming. We want to achieve the sustainable development goals by addressing the broader challenges of food and malnutrition insecurity and alleviate poverty. This also involves empowerment of women. 

The MOOF environment provides a safe, friendly and comfortable working atmosphere for many women of all ages, and special care for single mothers, as opposed to the closed hot greenhouse structures where cut-flowers are grown and in which workers are exposed to pesticide fumes, harmful for pregnant women and babies.

To address the challenges of food and malnutrition insecurity, we empower women.

Peter, your work is admirable and we hope your ideas and knowledge will spread across the country and beyond. How can we contribute?

MOOF-Africa continuously needs funds and partners to keep the operations going. You can visit our MOOF Africa website, showing our work in Kenya. And if you are nearby, do visit us!

Continue reading on fertilizers like nitrogen, and how it is related to bacteria and war, on soil salinization, and the Dust Bowl and how the Great Plains in America were restored. Discover the dry soils of Fuerteventura, Chernozem soils like the ones in Ukraine, and Catalonia's diversity of soils. 

Kathelijne: I am intrigued by how earth, life, air, ocean and societies interact on geological and human timescales.

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