€1.3 million K+S project offers support to 10,000 East African farmers 

The ‘Grow Eastern Africa’ project in Kenya and Uganda will help farmers increase their crop yields by more than 20%. PHOTO: K+S

K+S Minerals and Agriculture GmbH and its implementation partner DEG Impulse gGmbH have jointly launched the €1.3 million ‘Grow Eastern Africa’ project in Kenya and Uganda.  

The two-year project is funded equally from public and private contributions and will run until December 2028. It is being co-financed by the develoPPP programme of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). 

The joint project is planning to help at least 10,000 smallholder farmers in Kenya and Uganda increase their crop yields by more than 20%. This will be achieved by: 

• Offering hands-on training on climate-smart agriculture. 

• Providing at least 2,000 soil analyses and developing crop-specific fertilization recommendations based on the results. 

• Promoting the use of organo-mineral fertilizers on more than 100 farms. 

The project will also establish sustainable fertilizer distribution routes in partnership with local agricultural dealers, cooperatives and other organisations. An overarching aim is to make the region’s smallholder farmers more resilient to the impacts of climate change. 

“Productive and climate-resilient agriculture is an important prerequisite for food security and improved economic opportunities in rural areas. Public-private partnerships such as Grow Eastern Africa combine the strengths of development cooperation and the private sector, helping to advance sustainable solutions locally,” said Dr Miriam Amine, project manager at DEG Impulse. 

K+S has been active in East Africa since 2013 (Fertilizer International 469, p36) and operates two subsidiaries, K+S Fertilizers Kenya and Grainpulse Limited, in the region. These companies work in close collaboration with farmers and support the development, production and distribution of crop-specific fertilizer solutions tailored to local needs. 

“With Grow Eastern Africa, we aim to combine our expertise in plant nutrition with the knowledge and needs of farmers on the ground. Balanced fertilization tailored to both soil conditions and specific crops can help sustainably increase yields while strengthening resilience to climatic changes,” said Dr Carin-Martina Tröltzsch, deputy chair of the board of executive directors of K+S. 

By delivering higher yields, encouraging more efficient nutrient use and promoting climate-smart farming practices, Grow Eastern Africa aims to improve both food security and economic opportunities for participating smallholder farmers. 

“Agriculture in Kenya and Uganda faces challenges such as low and unbalanced fertilizer use, limited access to agronomic knowledge, soil degradation, and increasingly frequent weather extremes. Grow Eastern Africa addresses these challenges by combining science-based plant nutrition with practical know-how and strong local networks,” commented project manager Florian Pickert, director Fertilizer Africa at K+S.