Services – Mzuri Organics

What we do

Mission Statement

Our mission is to build smallholder farmers’ resilience to climate change through the promotion of regenerative agricultural practices.

Our vision is to create a world where smallholder farmers are empowered to thrive in the face of climate change. We strive to promote sustainable regenerative agricultural practices that enable farmers to produce healthy crops, increase their income, and protect the environment. Our goal is to build a resilient food system that supports the well-being of farmers, communities, and the planet for generations to come.

The Problems

Our efforts are directed towards four challenges:

Poor soil health (high acidity and low humus) due to degradation by farm related activities, affecting productivity.
Unaffordable farm inputs to smallholder farmers.
Increasing competition for limited food resources between humans and other domesticated animals.
Inefficient organic waste management at farm and market levels

The Solution

Our innovation involves the upcycling of locally available agricultural waste by employing the feeding mechanism of a combination of insects (black soldier fly larvae) and worms (red wigglers) to produce organic fertilizers, biofertilizers and animal feeds.

Under our Regen_Kilimo Program, we collaborate with smallholder farmers, helping them set up small low-cost insect and vermicomposting units on their farmlands.

We provide training on how to utilize their own farm-generated wastes, and the management of the units – including the harvesting of the final products for use on their farmlands and for their animals (poultry, pigs, and fish).

We also provide training in horticulture, crop seedlings and extension services to enable farmers in our program to diversify production using high-producing crop varieties. We off-take the surplus produce at good prices to sell on retail or wholesale to local and regional markets before or after some value addition.

We also have a central training and production facility where we produce plant and animal-based value-added organic and bio-fertilizers and insect-based formulated feeds, and sell these to smallholder farmers at very affordable prices.

Organic Fertilizers & Biofertilizers

We produce liquid and solid organic fertilizers and biofertilizers. These are superior, 100% Organic end products of the upcycling process, rich in plant and animal-based macro and micro nutrients including Nitrogen, Potassium, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Calcium, Sulphur, Iron and Manganese. They also contain living microbes that enhance plant nutrition by either mobilizing or increasing nutrient availability in soils.

Insect-based protein animal feeds

We produce insect-based protein from the harvesting of Black soldier fly larvae. These contain up to 50% protein, and 35% fat as well as amino acid profile comparable to that pf fish meal. It is an excellent source of nutrients for Chicken, Fish, Pigs and, pet food, with benefits like ease of digestibility, boosting immunity and, promoting fast growth in animals.

Regen-Kilimo Initiative

Impact

Increased land productivity as a result of farmland regeneration from the re-introduction of beneficial macro and micro-organisms and humus into the soil ecosystem and the reduction in the use of harsh chemical fertilizers
Improved standard of living among smallholder farmers due to lower farming costs and better and diversified yields (crops)/productivity (livestock). Additionally, jobs and supply opportunities created at the production facility provide locals with a steady, modest income.
Clean environment and lower GHG emissions with the adoption of a more efficient organic waste management practice.

Outcomes

More than 5 tons of organic waste processed every month (full capacity).
1000 litres of liquid fertilizer produced every week (current capacity).
1.5 tons of solid fertilizer produced every month (current capacity).
More trained farmers started BSF and worm farming.
Farmland regeneration in progress as more farmers adopt products and practices
Less dependence on expensive non-regenerative chemical fertilizers
Up to 60% savings on costs of farm inputs including fertilizers and feeds.
Increase in quantity and quality of farm yields.
Changes in livestock mortality/growth period/production (e.g. eggs).

SDG Alignment

SDG1 - End poverty in all its forms everywhere.

Our innovative solution helps build the resilience of the vulnerable smallholder farmers and reduces their exposure and vulnerability to socio-economic and environmental shocks through soil regeneration, reduction in food production costs and high agricultural productivity that ensures food safety and modest returns from surplus production.

SDG2 - End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.

The innovation produces sustainable food production systems through employing sustainable agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, help maintain ecosystems, strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding, and other disasters, and progressively improve land and soil quality.

We are also contributing to Increased investment, including through enhanced international cooperation, in rural infrastructure, agricultural research and extension services, and technology development, through the involvement of different partners from across the globe in funding and capacity-building angles

SDG5 - Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.

The innovation supports an economic activity that is gender neutral, therefore enabling gender equality and empowerment of women and girls in equal measure to the opposite gender.

SDG8 - Promote sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all

We provide equal access to employment opportunities for the empowerment of youth and women. The innovation potential for employment is in the thousands, considering the ease with which it, and should be replicated if we are to experience its full beneficial capacity.

SDG9 - Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and foster innovation.

The approach taken in solving the problems of soil degradation, food security and organic solid waste management is both highly innovative and resilient in the sense that it employs naturally occurring processes free from technological and mechanical failures particularly where simplistic approaches are intentionally used.

SDG11 - Sustainable cities and communities.

By utilization of and the effective management of organic waste from cities and communities, the innovation contributes immensely to reducing the adverse per capita environmental impact.

SDG12 - Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.

The circular nature of the innovation ensures effective management of organic wastes throughout their life cycle, and significantly reduces the release of various components of these wastes into the air, water and soil. This minimizes their adverse impacts on human health and the environment.

The community outreach program, Regen_Kilimo, also plays a key role of not only information-sharing, but also training and capacity building on sustainable development and lifestyles that promote harmonious co-existence between humans and nature.

SDG13 - Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

Throughout our processes, we are keen to raise awareness and promote human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction, and early warning with a key focus on women, youth, and local and vulnerable communities of smallholder farmers.

SDG14 - Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable Development

In our efforts to discourage the overuse of chemical fertilizers that mostly leach into rivers and end up in oceans; and instead encourage the adoption of regenerative agricultural practices, we contribute to the prevention and reduction of marine pollution in particular from land-based agricultural activities.

SDG15 - Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

Our key goal is the restoration of degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought and floods, for the benefit of a more sustainable agricultural production approach. Part of our vision is to achieve a land degradation-neutral world, and mostly through employing mitigation measures in human activities.

SDG17 - Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development.

Our innovation brings forth a solution to a global problem, one that affects more than half of the entire population of smallholder farmers globally. A problem of such magnitude requires a similarly huge multi-stakeholder collaboration to resolve effectively. Our efforts to collaborate with stakeholders at all levels, starting with smallholder farmers at the grassroots level, to local and international private, governmental and non-governmental organizations is a direct affront to the promotion of the highly desired partnership for sustainable development.