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Kenya county soil rankings 2026:Which counties have the best farming soil?

Not all Kenyan soils are equal — and the gap between the best and worst counties is not a matter of luck. It is geology, rainfall, land management history, and the accumulated effect of farming decisions made over decades. ShambaIQ has mapped soil quality across all 47 counties using precision soil prediction models calibrated against ground-truth data, scoring each county on pH, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and organic carbon. Here is what the data shows.

Polycarp Andabwa·MSc agricultural environmental engineering·founder, ShambaIQ

·2 June 2026·9 min read

Map of Kenya showing soil health scores for all 47 counties by ShambaIQ — ShambaIQ soil quality index mapped across Kenya's 47 counties. Source: ShambaIQ precision soil mapping 2026.

How we rank Kenya's county soils

The County Soil Quality Index (CSQI) aggregates five soil parameters, each scored against agronomic optima for general crop production and weighted by impact on yield.

Soil pH

30%

Controls nutrient availability and aluminium toxicity

Organic Carbon

25%

Water retention, microbial activity, nutrient cycling

Nitrogen

20%

Primary yield-limiting nutrient across most crops

Phosphorus

15%

Root development and energy transfer

Potassium

10%

Disease resistance and water regulation

Top 10 counties by soil quality index — 2026

Kenya county soil quality rankings 2026 by ShambaIQ
Rank	County	Zone	pH range	N	P	Oc	Best crop	Csqi
#1	Kiambu	Central Highlands	5.2–6.0	High	Moderate	High	Cabbage, Tomato, Tea	82
#2	Murang'a	Central Highlands	5.0–6.2	High	Moderate	High	Maize, Coffee, Avocado	80
#3	Uasin Gishu	Rift Valley Highlands	5.5–6.5	High	Moderate	High	Wheat, Maize, Potato	79
#4	Nyeri	Central Highlands	4.8–5.8	High	Low–Moderate	High	Coffee, Tea, Potato	77
#5	Nakuru	Rift Valley	5.8–6.8	Moderate–High	Moderate	Moderate–High	Maize, Wheat, Vegetables	76
#6	Nandi	Western Highlands	5.2–6.0	Moderate–High	Moderate	High	Tea, Maize, Dairy Fodder	74
#7	Kirinyaga	Central Highlands	5.5–6.5	Moderate–High	Moderate	Moderate–High	Rice, Tomato, Maize	73
#8	Meru	Central Highlands	4.5–5.5	High	Low	High	Miraa, Tea, Maize (with lime)	71
#9	Trans Nzoia	Rift Valley Highlands	5.5–6.5	High	Moderate	High	Maize, Potato, Sunflower	71
#10	Kakamega	Western Highlands	4.8–5.5	Moderate–High	Low	Moderate–High	Maize, Beans, Sugarcane	69

CSQI = County Soil Quality Index (0–100). Source: ShambaIQ precision soil mapping 2026. Check your farm's specific score here.

Best counties by crop type

The overall CSQI is useful but the crop-specific rankings tell a more practical story. A county that ranks 15th overall may rank 1st for a specific crop if its soil chemistry matches that crop's requirements precisely.

Maize

Uasin Gishu leads

Top: Uasin Gishu, Trans Nzoia, Nakuru, Bungoma, Nandi

Deep fertile soils, pH 5.8–6.8, adequate phosphorus, reliable long rains above 900mm

Wheat

Uasin Gishu leads

Top: Uasin Gishu, Nakuru, Laikipia, Trans Nzoia

Cool highland temperatures, low humidity during grain fill, pH 6.0–7.0, low disease pressure

Tea

Kiambu leads

Top: Kiambu, Murang'a, Nyeri, Kericho, Nandi, Bomet

Acidic soils pH 4.5–5.5, high rainfall above 1,400mm, cool temperatures, free-draining slopes

Tomato

Kirinyaga leads

Top: Kirinyaga, Kiambu, Kajiado (irrigated), Taita Taveta

Well-drained soils, warm days, calcium availability, proximity to Nairobi processing market

Onion

Kajiado leads

Top: Kajiado, Machakos, Narok, Taita Taveta

Dry conditions for bulb curing, irrigation access, low humidity that reduces fungal disease

Potato

Nyandarua leads

Top: Nyandarua, Nyeri, Meru, Trans Nzoia, Uasin Gishu

Cool temperatures, well-drained loam soils, altitude above 1,800m, low late blight pressure

Beans

Kakamega leads

Top: Kakamega, Bungoma, Kisii, Nyamira, Murang'a

Two reliable seasons, moderate temperatures, soils that support Rhizobium activity after liming

Rice

Kirinyaga (Mwea) leads

Top: Kirinyaga (Mwea), Kisumu, Homabay, Siaya, Tana River

Flat terrain, irrigation infrastructure, vertisol clay soils that retain water for paddy conditions

ASAL counties — managing low-ranked soils

The 23 ASAL counties — covering 80 percent of Kenya's land area — rank lower on the CSQI not because farming is impossible but because the crops and management strategies required are different. Matching crop to soil and climate is the core precision principle.

Kajiado

Onions and tomatoes under drip irrigation. Alkaline soils are an advantage for onion post-harvest curing. Proximity to Nairobi is a market advantage that compensates for the input cost of irrigation.

Machakos / Makueni / Kitui

Sorghum, pigeon peas, cowpeas, cassava, and green grams as primary crops. Zai pits and tied ridges for water harvesting. Organic matter restoration as the 3-season investment before intensifying with vegetables.

Laikipia

Dryland wheat and barley on the higher plateaux. Ranch-integrated farming combining livestock and fodder crops. Export horticulture under irrigation where groundwater access exists.

Tana River / Kilifi

Coastal cashew nuts, coconuts, and cassava on sandy soils. Irrigation-based horticulture along the Tana River. Mangrove-adjacent aquaculture integration with smallholder farming.

How to improve your county's soil rank

County averages mask huge farm-level variation. A farm in Kakamega (ranked 10th overall) can outperform a farm in Kiambu (ranked 1st) if the Kakamega farmer has limed to pH 6.0, applied Rhizobium, and built organic matter while the Kiambu farmer has done nothing. The ranking is a starting point — management determines the outcome.

Interventions to improve farm soil quality score in Kenya
Intervention	Csqi impact	Time to result	Cost/acre	Priority
Lime acidic soils to pH 6.0–6.5	+15 to +25 points	1–2 seasons	KES 7,000–28,000	Critical for pH below 5.5
Apply compost 3–5 t/acre/season	+5 to +10 points	2–4 seasons	KES 3,000–8,000	High — all counties
Incorporate crop residues (no burning)	+3 to +7 points	2–3 seasons	Labour only	High — especially ASAL
Legume cover crop rotation	+5 to +12 points	1–3 seasons	KES 1,500–4,000	High for low-N soils
Correct phosphorus application	+3 to +5 points	Immediate	KES 2,000–5,000	Medium — check first

Free precision tool

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Frequently asked questions

Which county has the best soil in Kenya?+

Kiambu, Murang'a, and Nyeri consistently rank among Kenya's top-performing counties for soil fertility based on pH proximity to optimum, organic carbon levels, and balanced NPK ratios. Their volcanic nitisol soils derived from Mount Kenya and Aberdare geology have naturally high nutrient-holding capacity. However, 'best soil' depends on the crop — Uasin Gishu ranks highest for wheat, Kirinyaga for irrigated rice, and Kajiado for onions despite its alkaline soils. Use ShambaIQ to see your county's ranking for your specific crop at shambaiq.com.

Which Kenyan counties have the worst soil quality?+

Counties in the ASAL (arid and semi-arid land) zone — Turkana, Marsabit, Mandera, Wajir, and Garissa — have the lowest soil productivity scores due to extreme aridity, low organic matter, and saline or alkaline conditions that limit crop diversity. Within agricultural zones, Kwale, Kilifi, and Taita Taveta's coastal sandy soils score low on nutrient retention. However, soil quality is not fixed — targeted management dramatically improves productivity in all these counties for appropriate crops.

What does ShambaIQ use to rank county soils?+

ShambaIQ's county soil rankings are based on precision soil mapping combining satellite-derived predictions and ground-truth calibration data across all 47 counties. The ranking scores five parameters: soil pH proximity to optimum (6.0–6.5), total nitrogen, extractable phosphorus, extractable potassium, and organic carbon percentage. Each parameter is weighted by its agronomic impact and the scores are aggregated into a County Soil Quality Index (CSQI) for each county and crop combination. The rankings update annually as new calibration data is incorporated.

Does having good soil mean I do not need fertilizer?+

No — even Kenya's highest-ranked soils require targeted fertilizer inputs for high-yield crop production. Kiambu's excellent volcanic soils are phosphorus-deficient for cabbages due to phosphorus fixation by iron oxides. Uasin Gishu's productive wheat soils require phosphorus and sulfur inputs every season. Good soil means a lower correction burden — you spend less on lime, need less phosphorus to overcome fixation, and have more natural nitrogen cycling. But no Kenyan agricultural soil produces optimal yields of cash crops without any fertilizer input.

How often do soil quality rankings change?+

Soil quality changes slowly — organic carbon builds at 0.1 to 0.2 percent per season with good management and declines at similar rates under degrading practices. Soil pH shifts more measurably: unlimed soils under intensive nitrogen fertilization can drop 0.2 to 0.3 pH units per season. ShambaIQ updates county rankings annually to reflect cumulative management trends. Farm-level rankings can shift significantly within 2 to 3 seasons when lime is applied to strongly acidic soils or intensive compost programmes rebuild organic matter.

Can I see my specific farm's soil ranking rather than county average?+

Yes — ShambaIQ provides farm-specific soil intelligence rather than county averages alone. Enter your county and crop at shambaiq.com and ShambaIQ returns your farm's predicted pH, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and organic carbon from precision soil mapping at 30-metre resolution, along with a Soil Quality Index score for your selected crop and a comparison against your county's average. Farm-level data is significantly more actionable than county averages, which mask the substantial variation that exists within every county.