Safi Organics improves farmer yields through carbon negative fertiliser

Safi Organics is a company that innovates and deploys small-scale, village-based fertiliser production in Kenya. Their product reduces dependence on expensive, imported, carbon intensive fertiliser and has increased farmers’ yields by 27%.

Most fertiliser is produced in large-scale facilities. Production is expensive and uses a high energy, carbon-intensive process. Fertiliser is then shipped out to rural areas where farmers pay a steep markup. Both the COVID-19 pandemic and the war between Russia and Ukraine have further contributed to price increases. Additionally, centralised facilities produce standardised fertiliser products that are not always well-matched to soil type or crop.

In Kenya, 3 million farmers are confronted with high fertiliser prices and spend a total of $84 million per year on conventional fertiliser. High fertiliser prices impact an estimated 237 million smallholder farmers worldwide.

^{X prize and Eco Engineers team conducting an audit in their new production facility}

How is Safi Organics unique from more mainstream solutions?

Safi Organics is unique because it uses technology that enables decentralised and rapid production of fertiliser. This presents an alternative between large-scale expensive central production and time intensive small-scale composting.

Safi utilises a thermochemical process to break down biomass, such as rice husks. The approach accelerates production and allows for greater adaptability ensuring both optimal performance and affordability.

"The story of Safi Organics emerges from a deep-rooted crisis in Kenyan agriculture, where farmers face a complex web of challenges that have historically limited their productive potential. As a co-founder, my journey began with witnessing firsthand the struggles of smallholder farmers caught in a cycle of dependency on imported fertilisers and diminishing returns from their land.

Our solution has empowered farmers to achieve remarkable results in their operations. Through our innovative approach, farmers have successfully reduced their fertiliser costs by 30-40% while simultaneously improving soil health and crop yields."

—Joyce W. Kamande, Co-Founder and COO, Safi Organics

Why does Safi’s work matter?

In the pilot village, Safi sold its fertiliser to 14,000 smallholder farmers. On average, their post-harvest yields have improved by 27% and net income by 50%. After using the Safi locally constituted fertiliser blend, soil degradation was reversed on over 6,000 hectares, 50,000 tonnes of crop residues were repurposed (instead of burned), and around 30,000 tonnes of CO₂ were removed from the atmosphere.

Localised fertiliser production disproportionately benefits farmers with marginal lands, women, and minority farmers, who may not be able to afford conventional fertilisers after the markups associated with production and shipping. Safi worked with Sweden’s Klarna bank to enable $120/tonne of carbon credits to be rebated directly to smallholder farmers, further benefitting farmer livelihoods and climate resilience.

^{Safi Production team working on Takavator Machine}

^{Field visit at Isaac's farm in Gachuriri}

What could the future look like if Safi scales?

Not only does Safi Organics’ business model make economic sense, it also leads to better results for smallholder famers. Forum for the Future believes that business has a critical role to play in shaping the future—if more businesses were able to integrate just and regenerative practices into their core business model, the future would be better for all.

If Safi Organics can scale and make localised, carbon negative fertiliser the norm, this will improve the lives of millions of households, especially those in Africa and India where there many smallholder farmers. Women farmers, minority farmers, and those in isolated rural regions, will all be able to save money on agricultural inputs, increase yields, and improve the environment. This will not only benefit farmers' livelihoods but food security for everyone.

Questions to consider:

What industries do you work with that could benefit from decentralised production?

In what ways are farmer livelihoods being supported in the long-term?

How might we support innovation around repurposing waste?

What can we do to ensure greater food security globally?

Images courtesy: Safi Organics

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