About 63 per cent of Kenya's arable land is acidic, and nearly seven million acres of that is strongly acidic, according to Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe.

The figure is the basis for a national soil testing and mapping programme designed to end blanket fertiliser recommendations and match both fertiliser advice and government support to the actual condition of farmers' fields.

Kagwe launched the initiative at the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO) in Kabete on September 29, 2026. The launch covered three components: the National Soil Partnership, the National Soil laboratory Network and the national rollout of the Global Soil Doctors Programme. He also handed over refurbished KALRO Soil Chemistry Laboratories valued at Sh220 million.

The Cabinet Secretary was blunt about the cost of continuing with one-size-fits-all fertiliser use.

"A bag of the wrong fertiliser, delivered on time, at half the price, to the wrong soil, is still the wrong fertiliser," Kagwe said.

"Subsidy without a soil test is sympathy. It is not strategy."

77,000 samples, 45 counties

The government and KALRO are analysing about 77,000 soil samples from 45 counties and will publish county-level soil fertility maps. The maps should show which nutrients are available in each area and guide recommendations on fertiliser and other soil amendments, including lime for acidic soils.

The National Soil Partnership will coordinate soil-health activity and information sharing between national and county governments, KALRO, universities and the private sector. The National Soil laboratory Network will set common standards for soil testing, while the Global Soil Doctors Programme will train farmers to understand their own soils and pass that knowledge to other farmers.

Kagwe said the government also plans to link soil test results with the Kenya Integrated Agricultural Management Information System (KIAMIS), which holds registrations for more than eight million farmers. Once connected, farm-level data would increasingly determine which inputs are recommended to individual farmers.

Diagnosis before prescription

Kagwe drew on his own farming experience — and his previous role as Health Cabinet Secretary — to explain the shift. He said he once bought the fertiliser commonly used in his area, only to discover through soil testing that he had been adding nutrients his land already contained while missing those it lacked.

"I was not farming. I was gambling. I was farming blind," Kagwe said.

He compared soil testing to medical diagnosis. Doctors examine patients before prescribing treatment, yet farmers have routinely applied the same fertiliser products across soils with very different nutrient levels and acidity.

Turnaround time matters as much as accuracy. Kagwe said the refurbished soil chemistry laboratories at Kabete would cut the time taken to process samples and return results to farmers.

"A soil result that arrives after the rains have come is a historical document, not a farming decision," he said.

Counties, lime and counterfeit inputs

Kagwe called on county governments to co-finance soil testing and bring services closer to farmers. He urged greater use of lime on acidic soils and restoration of organic matter.

He also said the government would continue its crackdown on counterfeit, expired and substandard agricultural inputs, arguing that soil testing has limited value if product contents do not match their labels.

Staffing is a further constraint. Kagwe appealed to the Public Service Commission to let KALRO recruit more researchers, saying the organisation needs additional expertise to operate 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.

Kenyan farmers should watch for the county-level soil fertility maps and the KIAMIS linkage over the coming months, as these will determine how quickly fertiliser recommendations shift from uniform blends to soil-specific advice.