Regenerating soil with cultivated kelp

Solution Pitch

The Problem

About a third of the world’s soils are already degraded and, at current rates, all topsoils in the world will be degraded in just 60 years. In conventional agriculture, minerals like nitrogen, phosphorus, or potassium are often added to the soil in the form of synthetic fertilizers to replenish depleted nutrients and enable higher yields. However, fertilizer is expensive and often inaccessible for low-income farmers, leading to low yields and degradation over time. Without protecting and regenerating the soil, it will be impossible to feed the world, keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius, or halt the loss of biodiversity.

The Solution

This solution is an exploration of the use of cultivated kelp in regenerative agriculture to showcase the application of biostimulants so as to decrease dependence on chemical fertilizers. Through strategic partnership between regenerative agriculture experts, reNature, kelp cultivator, Kelp Blue, and Kelp Forest Foundation are building capacity for kelp cultivation and application. The solution is an innovative approach to helping sustain healthy ecosystems both on land and sea.

Stats

• The solution has not served any beneficiaries as of today because it has yet to be implemented. The current plan is to pilot the solution in a cotton-based model farm in Voi, Kenya, targeting a group of 1,000 farmers.

Market Opportunity

This solution bridges two markets; regenerative land and ocean farming, both of which are slowly being explored, especially the combination thereof. In 2021, the global regenerative agriculture market was worth USD 7.74 billion. The global seaweed market is currently worth about $8 billion and growing at an annual rate of 8%.

Organization Highlights

Outside of the partnership between reNature, Kelp Blue and the Kelp Forest Foundation, each organization works with others across the public and private sectors, including:

• UN Global Compact

• Hortimare B.V.

• Nature Metrics

• Wageningen University & Research

• reNature also works with corporate partners like Nestle, Danone and Unilever in aiming towards large-scale transition to regenerative agriculture. 

Partnership Goals

Regenerating soil with cultivated kelp seeks:

• Expertise in building a sustainable business model

• Financial support for enhancing the farmers' business capacity to absorb these regenerative practices and ensure the sustainability thereof

• Support is needed to help the partners establish an efficient, collaborative approach and roadmap towards securing funding for the potential facility component of the solution, in addition to getting direct exposure to funders.