Safi Sarvi by Takachar

The Solution

Fertilizers today are mostly produced in large-scale, centralized, and capital-intensive facilities in North America, Europe, and China. After production, fertilizers are shipped long distances to emerging economies such as Kenya. Due to this logistical mark-up, rural farmers in places like Sub-Saharan Africa have to pay two to three times the world price for the imported fertilizer.

Using agricultural waste, Safi Sarvi utilizes a low-cost, mobile technology to produce carbon-negative fertilizer that improves local soil fertility. This mobile technology downsizes and decentralizes fertilizer production, making it possible to implement village-based, pro table fertilizer production units using locally available labor, resources, and waste. It also allows rural farmers to access a high-yield fertilizer blend that is locally produced and can improve their yields by up to 30 percent. Additionally, this technology does not rely on any external energy to power itself, thereby drastically reducing the emissions (both CO2 and other pollutants such as PAH, particulates, NOx, etc.) compared to the status quo. By converting local agricultural waste, Safi Sarvi enables income generation and localized access to high-yield fertilizer, thereby providing economic incentives for farmers and entrepreneurs to adapt to their solution. So far, this solution has benefited more than 2,500 farmers, and the pilot production has proven itself to be financially profitable.  

Existing Partnerships

Takachar has partnered with the following organizations:

• The Tony Elumelu Foundation
• Total Kenya, committed to better energy
• Big Ideas @ Berkeley, Rudd Family Foundation
• SafiOrganics
• MIT IDEAS Global Challenge
• Kenya Climate Innovation Center
• Spark* Kenya