Soils in Kenya are running out of road. More than 40 per cent of soils across East Africa are degraded, and the situation in Kenya is worse, with only around a fifth of croplands being considered arable, according to the Soil Atlas Kenya Edition, a report launched in Nairobi last year.

The report found that croplands lose around 26 tonnes of soil per hectare to water-induced erosion annually, with some areas losing more than 90 tonnes.

For farmers, this is not an abstract statistic. It manifests as smaller harvests, thinner topsoil and rising input costs. Qureish Noordin, the Technical Lead for Regenerative Agriculture at AGRA, says there has been a shift in thinking – from treating agriculture in isolation towards viewing the entire system, from production to markets and consumers.

For decades, farming systems relied heavily on chemical fertiliser. However, declining soil fertility shows that this approach has reached its limits.

“There needs to be a balance between external inputs, such as chemical fertiliser, and organic resources,” says Noordin, arguing that this is where regenerative agriculture (RA) comes in.

He points to Elgeyo Marakwet as an example. Historically, this county recorded strong harvests in June and July, but is now experiencing declining production due to shifting rainfall patterns.

The Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (Kalro) has been tracking the scale of the problem for years. Its analysis has found that nearly 63 per cent of Kenya’s arable land is acidic, which undermines the ability of crops to absorb fertiliser.

The Kalro director-general has in the past attributed low productivity to a combination of land degradation, the impacts of climate change, drought and desertification.

In response to the scale of the problem, Kalro in early 2025 launched a digitised soil testing and sampling programme in 45 counties.

Read: Janeth Chepkemoi: The scientist uncovering life beneath the soil

Working alongside devolved governments and the Ministry of Agriculture, more than 77,000 soil samples were collected and analysed.

The programme aims to replace manual soil sampling with mobile data collection and provide farmers with tailored fertiliser and nutrient recommendations based on the results.

A baseline study by SNV earlier this year found that regenerative practices are already taking hold, albeit unevenly, in Busia, Bungoma, Kakamega, Uasin Gishu, Nakuru, Nandi and Kericho counties.

Seventy-nine per cent of surveyed farmers use compost manure, 74 per cent practise inter-cropping, 73 per cent rotate crops and 54 per cent apply mulching. However, adoption rates for other practices are lower. Agroforestry sits at 34 per cent, conservation tillage (26 per cent) and bio-slurry systems at just seven per cent.

According to the study released in March 2026, cost is the biggest barrier, accounting for 35 per cent of the adoption challenges farmers cite. Labour demands account for 22 per cent, limited knowledge (20 per cent), limited access to inputs (eight per cent), land constraints (seven per cent) and water shortages (nine per cent).

“Despite these constraints, the uptake of regenerative agricultural practices is encouraging,” says Judith Libaisi, the Kenya Country Lead for the Powering Renewable Energy Opportunities (Powerful Food Partnership) at SNV.

She says regenerative agriculture begins with rebuilding soil health through the use of compost, organic fertiliser, bio-pesticides, crop rotation, agroforestry, biodiversity conservation, cover crops and the integration of livestock into farming systems.

The report recommends expanding affordable financing for these practices, scaling up field demonstrations and improving coordination between input suppliers and agricultural extension services.

Esther Wariara, a horticultural farmer in Githunguri – Kiambu County – has adopted some of these practices. She grows traditional vegetables, fruits and maize organically, and has switched to solar-powered irrigation due to rising electricity and chemical costs that reduce her profits.

She estimates that her daily irrigation costs have dropped from around Sh500 to half that amount. However, this figure is based on her own estimates rather than actual measurements.

swaweru@ke.nationmedia.com