As Africa seeks to increase food production to meet
rising demand and fill shortages, the need to
protect soils and the environment is also emerging.
A recent Food and Agriculture Organisation report
revealed that the continuous use of fertilisers such
as DAP (Diammonium Phosphate) in Kenya has
resulted in reduced soil pH levels and declining
productivity.
Kenyan entrepreneur Marion Moon hopes to
replenish depleted soils using her organic fertilisers.
In 2012, a year after quitting her job, she started
Wanda Organic to produce organic fertilisers using
animal and plant waste.
Wanda Organic’s fertiliser brand called Plantmate is
targeted at smallholder commercial farmers. The for-
profit social enterprise has outsourced its production
to a Philippines-based company and plans to open a
local factory by 2015.
A 50kg bag of Plantmate currently sells for US$35.
Moon’s aim is to reduce the price to half when local
production begins and sales volumes rise. Her goal is
to sell 300,000 bags in Kenya by the end of 2015 and
capture 40% of the market in five years.
“The short-term effects of chemical fertilisers are
great because they increase your yield but the long-
term effects are very dangerous. We need to conserve
our environment, be sustainable and look after our
soils. It is the number one resource. What else does
the majority of our population have if not their
land?”
The use of Plantmate, she says, helps farmers to
increase their yields, suppress diseases and improve
soil health. Moon reiterates that her business is not
out to compete with companies that sell chemical
fertilisers but to promote sustainable farming by
supplementing chemical mixtures with organic ones.
“When you use our organic fertiliser with a little bit
of chemical fertilisers you maximise your yields
without harming your soil,” she says, adding that it
can also be used by farmers who practice organic
methods.
Getting started
After completing her studies in Australia,
Moon moved back home and worked in Kenya and
Uganda . In 2011 she quit her well paying job at a
global firm where she was the executive assistant to
the regional managing director and chairman.
“As an executive assistant I had a lot of access to the
entire company and I used to attend board meetings
and write board reports. It was a lot of fun making a
lot of money and travelling. However, we were
explaining to American shareholders how much
money we made and why we didn’t make more. In
[business] you are always explaining to people why
you are not making them as much money as they
want to make. I wanted to do something that made a
difference.”
As she tried to figure out what that difference would
be, Moon was approached to do a small due
diligence project in Southeast Asia.
“I went to Thailand and I was expecting it to be like
Kenya or Uganda, but those guys are way ahead of
us. When I went into the rural areas people were
not hungry. Here, when I go to the village everyone
is always asking [for help] and they are hungry…
Thailand was such a different experience.”
She then visited Vietnam and the Philippines and
saw how farmers there produce more, and better
quality food by practicing sustainable farming using
better seeds and organic fertilisers.
“I saw a gap. Our farmers don’t have access to
quality organic fertilisers. They have used excessive
chemical fertilisers and their [yields] are now
declining,” she says. “I am very passionate about my
country and about this continent.
My father is from
the UK so there was opportunity to move there. My
siblings moved there, but for me this is home.
Instead of complaining about food shortages I
wanted to do something about it.”
Wanda Organic has been working with large
commercial farms hoping its success will inspire
neighbouring smallholder farmers to adopt organic
fertilisers.
“They are what I call the low hanging fruit and their
business gives us money to keep growing Wanda.
However, that smallholder farmer is still my target. It
is about being patient because change is not easy.
It is about education and partnering with farmers
and other stakeholders.”
Moon explains that Plantmate is made by combining
organic waste with an activator that has over 20
naturally occurring soil microbes and putting that
mix through a rapid decomposition process. The
finished product holds more than 20 microbes
including bacteria, nitrifiers and fungi, which are
beneficial to soil and plant.
“The idea is to have many factories across the
country to be closer to the farmers. We are also
considering a franchise model so we can teach
farmers’ groups how to build their own factory, then
we just sell them the microbes.”
Setting up a basic fertiliser plant would cost about
KSh. 1m ($11, 500) and can be a manual or
mechanised operation depending on the size. This
biotechnology, Moon says, is popular in Southeast
Asia and is gaining traction in Australia and Canada.
A frustrating journey
Getting government approvals and licensing to
produce bio-organic fertilisers has been a long and
“frustrating” journey for Moon. She has also faced
difficulties carving a niche in a male dominated
industry.
“I had to really push. In the initial meeting I was
kicked out. I was told I have come to Kenya to cheat
farmers,” says Moon. “I am relatively young and that
was a barrier. A few times I was told to come with
my husband or go open a hair salon. I have been
told really stupid things.”
Moon says her experience has taught her “patience
and persistence are key ingredients in
entrepreneurship”.
“It has been a steep learning curve.”
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