George Muturi applies vermicompost, an organic fertilizer, on his broccoli patch at his farm in Lari district, Kiambu county, on August 12, 2026. Agriculture is vital to East Africa's economy, but a 2025 soil report by German NGO Heinrich Boll Foundation found that more than 40 percent of the region's soils were degraded -- in part by overuse of chemical fertilisers -- costing more than $65 billion a year in lost productivity. Fertiliser prices have also increased this year due to the war in the Middle East, driving a search for alternatives. In Kenya, 32 percent of cropland was classified as strongly acidic in the soil report. Changing climatic conditions and overly intensive farming practices are among the causes, but Muturi says moving away from chemical fertilisers has boosted his harvests at his farm in Lari, about 50 kilometres from the capital, Nairobi. (Photo by Tony KARUMBA / AFP via Getty Images)

Black soldier fly (BSF) larvae at their final instar stage before turning pre-pupae eat through a trough of organic food waste at a BSF farm in Njoro constituency, Nakuru county on July 30, 2026. Agriculture is vital to East Africa's economy, but a 2025 soil report by German NGO Heinrich Boll Foundation found that more than 40 percent of the region's soils were degraded -- in part by overuse of chemical fertilisers -- costing more than $65 billion a year in lost productivity. Fertiliser prices have also increased this year due to the war in the Middle East, driving a search for alternatives. In Kenya, 32 percent of cropland was classified as strongly acidic in the soil report. Changing climatic conditions and overly intensive farming practices are among the causes, but Muturi says moving away from chemical fertilisers has boosted his harvests at his farm in Lari, about 50 kilometres from the capital, Nairobi. (Photo by Tony KARUMBA / AFP via Getty Images)

Volunteers check for adequate water supply in a hydroponic system using organic fertiliser produced by Nawiri Organics from frass, a byproduct of Black Soldier Fly (BSF) farming, in Salgaa on July 30, 2026. Agriculture is vital to East Africa's economy, but a 2025 soil report by German NGO Heinrich Boll Foundation found that more than 40 percent of the region's soils were degraded -- in part by overuse of chemical fertilisers -- costing more than $65 billion a year in lost productivity. Fertiliser prices have also increased this year due to the war in the Middle East, driving a search for alternatives. In Kenya, 32 percent of cropland was classified as strongly acidic in the soil report. Changing climatic conditions and overly intensive farming practices are among the causes, but Muturi says moving away from chemical fertilisers has boosted his harvests at his farm in Lari, about 50 kilometres from the capital, Nairobi. (Photo by Tony KARUMBA / AFP via Getty Images)

A volunteer check for adequate water supply in a hydroponic system using organic fertiliser produced by Nawiri Organics from frass, a byproduct of Black Soldier Fly (BSF) farming, in Salgaa on July 30, 2026. Agriculture is vital to East Africa's economy, but a 2025 soil report by German NGO Heinrich Boll Foundation found that more than 40 percent of the region's soils were degraded -- in part by overuse of chemical fertilisers -- costing more than $65 billion a year in lost productivity. Fertiliser prices have also increased this year due to the war in the Middle East, driving a search for alternatives. In Kenya, 32 percent of cropland was classified as strongly acidic in the soil report. Changing climatic conditions and overly intensive farming practices are among the causes, but Muturi says moving away from chemical fertilisers has boosted his harvests at his farm in Lari, about 50 kilometres from the capital, Nairobi. (Photo by Tony KARUMBA / AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi Arabian Sports Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal (L) and French Minister of Sports Marina Ferrari pose after signing an accord of cooperation about sports ahead of the closing ceremony of the Esports World Cup at the Grand Palais in Paris, France, 23 August 2026. (Photo by Teresa SUAREZ / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi Arabian Sports Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal (L) and French Minister of Sports Marina Ferrari sign an accord of cooperation about sports ahead of the closing ceremony of the Esports World Cup at the Grand Palais in Paris, France, 23 August 2026. (Photo by Teresa SUAREZ / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi Arabian Sports Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal (L) and French Minister of Sports Marina Ferrari sign an accord of cooperation about sports ahead of the closing ceremony of the Esports World Cup at the Grand Palais in Paris, France, 23 August 2026. (Photo by Teresa SUAREZ / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

Members of a local electoral commission count ballots at a polling station during parliamentary elections, in Almaty, southeastern Kazakhstan on August 23, 2026. Ex-Soviet Kazakhstan votes for a new unicameral parliament following changes to its constitution that authorities say will democratise Central Asia's largest economy, but critics slam the move as cementing the president's power. (Photo by Ruslan PRYANIKOV / AFP via Getty Images)