Acidic soils

Africa’s Silent Crisis: Farmers Are Mining Nutrients — But Acidic Soils Make It Worse

For decades, farmers across Sub-Saharan Africa have been extracting nutrients from their soils faster than they can be replenished — degrading both soil health and fertility.

In Kenya’s farming systems, we often talk about soil fertility but do we truly understand soil health?

Soil fertility is about the soil’s ability to supply nutrients like nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) to crops. But this is just one part of the puzzle.

Soil health, on the other hand, is broader. It includes the chemical, physical, and biological qualities of the soil that sustain crop productivity and promote long-term ecosystem function.

At the center of soil health is soil organic matter which boosts nutrient cycling, water retention, microbial activity, and soil structure.

But here’s the catch Many Kenyan soils are too acidic which locks away nutrients, even when fertilizers are applied. The result? Wasted inputs, poor crop response, and declining yields.

Tested your soil yet?

The Proven Solution: CalciGrow

CalciGrow is not just a calcium fertilizer it’s a soil correction tool that:

  • Neutralizes excess soil acidity (H⁺ ions)
  • Releases locked-up phosphorus and micronutrients
  • Improves root growth, water use, and nutrient uptake
  • Enhances microbial activity for better soil biology

Whether you’re growing coffee, maize, avocados, or vegetables, CalciGrow creates the ideal pH environment for both fertilizer efficiency and soil regeneration.

Soil Health vs. Soil Fertility: Why CalciGrow is the Key to Unlocking yields

Whether you’re growing coffee, maize, avocados, or vegetables, CalciGrow creates the ideal pH environment for both fertilizer efficiency and soil regeneration.

nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) than they replace.

According to long-term studies:

Over 660 kg of nitrogen, 75 kg of phosphorus, and 450 kg of potassium per hectare have been lost across 200 million hectares in 30 years.

Cereal yields have crashed from 2–4 tons/ha to less than 1.4 tons/ha.

But here’s the deeper truth

❌ You Can’t Absorb What the Soil Won’t Release

Even when farmers replace nutrients with fertilizer, it doesn’t work in acidic soils.
Why?
Acidic pH locks nutrients in the soil — making them unavailable to crops.
Roots can’t absorb N, P, K, or even secondary nutrients like calcium, magnesium, and sulfur.
Fertilizer becomes a wasted investment.

CalciGrow is the proven solution to this crisis:

  • Neutralizes soil acidity by removing hydrogen ions (H⁺)
  • Unlocks nutrients trapped in acidic soils
  • Improves fertilizer efficiency and crop nutrient uptake
  • Increases yield, root development, and soil biology

Without correcting soil pH, fertilizer is just expensive dust.

Shift the Narrative: From Nutrient Mining to Soil Restoration

It’s time for a new approach.
Let’s stop blaming fertilizers and start fixing the root cause acidic, depleted soils.

With CalciGrow, farmers can restore balance, improve yields, and build long-term soil health.

Soil acidity

Trans Nzoia Leads the Way in Climate Action — Now Let’s Tackle Soil Acidity Too

We congratulate the Governor of Trans Nzoia County for this bold and forward-thinking initiative to draft new laws addressing climate change-related challenges. By aligning waste management, sustainable forest management, climate change, and quarry management under a strong legal framework, the county is setting a national example for coordinated, community-driven environmental action.

However, as we celebrate this milestone, it is important to highlight one often-overlooked factor that directly contributes to climate vulnerability: soil acidity. Acidic soils lead to massive wastage of NPK fertilizer, lower crop yields, and reduced crop health. This not only hurts farmers’ incomes but also limits the soil’s ability to capture and store carbon a critical tool in the fight against climate change.

Healthy soils are the foundation of food security, economic stability, and climate resilience. It’s imperative to test your soils and Correct soil acidity with solutions like CalciGrow mineral-organic fertilizer can unlock the full potential of NPK fertilizers, restore soil biology, and boost both yields and carbon capture.

Trans Nzoia is already showing leadership. By integrating soil health improvement into these climate laws, the county can achieve even greater impact for its farmers, environment, and future generations.

Agroecology is the Future and CalciGrow is Leading the Way

Agroecology is the Future and CalciGrow is Leading the Way

Agroecology is the Future and CalciGrow is Leading the Way. Here’s how this game-changing approach is restoring Kenya’s soils and securing our food systems.

At the just-concluded 2nd National Agroecology Symposium (10–11 July 2025) at the Kenya School of Monetary Studies, one message rang loud and clear: agroecology is not just a solution. It is the solution for Kenya’s broken food systems.

Organized by a coalition of changemakers, including farmers, researchers, civil society, private sector leaders, and government policymakers. The symposium highlighted the urgent need to restore soil health, build climate resilience, and ensure food security.

One of the keynote voices, Dr. Susan Chomba, Director of Food, Land and Water at the World Resources Institute (WRI), emphasized that Kenya’s soils are in crisis. Fertiliser use has increased by 36% since 1990, yet maize yields have declined. Why? Because degraded soils can no longer respond.

Enter agroecology a science-backed, culturally rooted, and farmer-empowering system. As Eric Kasina writes in his article in the Daily Nation, agroecology offers Kenya a way to move beyond overdependence on costly chemical inputs.

🔁 This is where CalciGrow stands out.

Made from high-purity calcium carbonate derived from white marble, CalciGrow restores soil vitality by neutralizing excess soil acidity the silent killer of yields and nutrient uptake. Unlike conventional fertilisers that mask the problem, CalciGrow treats it at the root.

✅ Improves root health
✅ Releases locked-up nutrients
✅ Boosts microbial activity
✅ Reduces dependency on synthetic inputs
✅ Enhances crop yield and quality

CalciGrow supports the agroecological revolution that Kenya urgently needs by building living soils, not just feeding crops.

We echo the call by World Resources Institute (WRI), Eric Kasina, and Dr. Susan Chomba: Kenya must boldly back agroecology, not just with policies but with practical tools that deliver results on the ground. CalciGrow is one such tool.

As the WRI model proves agroecology is not a quick fix. It’s the right fix. Let’s restore our soils, revive our farms, and reclaim farmer dignity with CalciGrow at the heart of the solution.

Soil health

Celebrating Kenya’s Soil Champions!

Kenya’s future depends on healthy soils and thanks to passionate experts like Dr. Harun Warui, that message is finally taking center stage. Featured in the Daily Nation, Dr. Warui has been instrumental in sounding the alarm on soil degradation, a silent crisis that threatens not only our farms but our national food security

Dr. Warui lays bare the urgent challenges our soils face:

  • Nutrient depletion from years of overuse and under-replenishment
  • Soil acidity from imbalanced fertilizer use
  • Siltation and erosion that strip the land of its productive topsoil
  • And the looming threat of desertification in vulnerable regions
Dr. Harun Warui speaks out on Kenya’s soil crisis
This excerpt from the Daily Nation highlights the growing threat of soil acidity, erosion, and nutrient loss,

Source: Daily Nation | Heinrich Böll Foundation

But with awareness comes action and solutions do exist.

One such solution is CalciGrow whose benefits include;

  • Neutralizing soil acidity, allowing crops to absorb more nutrients
  • Maximizing nutrient availability
  • Optimizing NPK fertilizer and micronutrient uptake
  • Increasing moisture retention
  • Improving seed germination and plant growth
  • Enhancing pest & disease resistance

Across the country, farmers using CalciGrow are reporting healthier crops, greener leaves, and more productive harvests especially when combined with the right fertilizer blends like Fanisi fertilizer.

As we celebrate Dr. Warui’s commitment to placing soil health at the center of Kenya’s agricultural agenda, let’s also recognize the tools that are helping us take action. CalciGrow is more than just a product it’s a partner in the fight for resilient, regenerative agriculture.

Hats off to Dr. Harun Warui, and to every farmer, agronomist, and policymaker championing sustainable solutions.

The future of Kenya’s food begins with what’s beneath our feet. Let’s take care of it together.

Frequently asked questions

What is CalciGrow?

CalciGrow is a granulated ultrafine calcium mineral fertilizer responsible for higher yields in all crops, it is made up of 95% Calcium Carbonate and 5% Magnesium Carbonate.

How to use CalciGrow?

When planting, mix CalciGrow with your planting fertilizer in a 1:1 ratio. Do the same during topdressing mix CalciGrow with your topdressing fertilizer in a 1:1 ratio.

Is CalciGrow safe for the environment?

CalciGrow is an eco-friendly and sustainable fertilizer that does not harm the environment or contribute