Smallholder farming is the backbone of the African economy.
But productivity is well below the global average,
meaning farmers find it difficult to make a decent living
or have to expand their growing area.
One of the main reasons for this is the depletion of key nutrients
in the soil that are needed to support healthy plant growth.
The population is growing, we need healthy soils to produce more,
and not only produce more but produce healthy foods
that will not lead to diseases in the long run.
There is a big opportunity for biochar
to change acidified soils to optimal pH for production of crops.
The farmers who use our products are experiencing an increased yield.
That gives us the biggest pride
when it comes to our fight against climate change.
One afternoon we were harvesting with my grandmother and she said,
“About 20 years back we were harvesting double of what we harvested today.”
“I’m afraid in future you’ll have no food from this land to feed your children.”
And it turns out she was right.
Back in 2013, I had come to Mwea.
I saw mountains of rice husks and I was told,
“We burn them because they have no significant use.”
And I was like,“No way.”
“There is something that can be done with this.”
And my first thought was
we can convert this to briquettes,
and it was really a big disappointment.
The briquettes that we made didn’t boil a pot of tea,
but we said what else can we do?
We started producing eco-friendly mosquito coils,
but they were burning half the time
a conventional mosquito coil could burn.
And that point, I was like, well,
what if we take this product back to the farm.
And we found a farmer, Mr. Dan. We told him,
“We have a product for you that you can use on your farm.”
Interestingly, Mr. Dan doubled his yields for that season,
and we registered Safi Organics
to provide an alternative for acidified soils, which is biochar.
I foresee a future where regenerative agriculture will be the norm,
and we are educating most farmers and youths
to come together to adopt regenerative agriculture.
We are currently serving about 4,000 smallholder farmers.
So, we decided to train youths on the conversion process.
We have developed a simple but very effective carboniser
and they use it out in the field.
It works by stuffing rice straws into the base and lighting it up.
It is then gradually covered in rice husks,
and it slowly smoulders and carbonises the husk
until the husks are fully charred.
The final product, which is biochar,
is then sent back to our central processing site,
for the final stage.
Our model has been designed in such a way
that we have set up a production facility
like the one we have here in Mwea,
in different villages. So you don’t have to transport the material
all the way for very long distances.
We buy the biochar from these youths.
It is passed through a grinding machine to reduce bulkiness.
Then we mix it with a fortifying organic formula.
This is what adds nutrient to the product.
We package it in 50-kg bags
and it is now ready for the market,
and the farmers use it as it is.
Most of the soils are acidified,
the yields have declined year by year.
If farmers embrace biochar-based fertilisers,
they are restoring their soils.
They’re able to produce more from their land.
The other thing is that they’re cleaning the environment.
When you apply biochar on an acreage of land,
you’re able to sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Once I discovered and used it, the organic fertiliser has transformed my soil.
My rice is heavier
The yield has also increased by 15 bags.
I’ve educated my children with the returns.
My retirement package is also looking very good! Since I am now an organic rice farmer!
Success is when your client smiles.
When we produce and grow crops,
the crops mine nutrients from the soil.
We’re taking back the nutrients into the soil
and giving the soils an opportunity to rejuvenate.
That way, we have actually closed the nutrient loop.
For every acre of land, we are sequestering 1.7 tonnes of CO2.
We are at the heart of circularity.
We are taking waste which would have otherwise been lost
and converting it into valuable products for the farm.
By closing the loop between agriculture waste and the production,
circular productive and climate-smart agriculture
can deliver benefits right across the board.