Increasing agricultural productivity has been the main agenda of agricultural experts in many countries, including Malawi. Due to the effects of climate change on agricultural productivity, researchers have found ways to improve the productivity of both smallholders and commercial farmers, the former for greater food security and the latter for greater profits. However, so many years after the introduction of productive varieties, still being developed by many researchers from around the world, the globe is still facing food insecurity for the majority of people on planet earth. The use of inorganic fertilizers has improved the problem of low agricultural productivity, however, in most developing countries, food insecurity persists every year. What could be the problem? In my opinion, I would say that many developing countries have failed to address the problem of soil productivity and have rushed to think that the use of high-yielding varieties and the use of inorganic fertilizers will solve the problems. I believe that the problem must be addressed at the root, that is, that most soils have lost their productive capacity and therefore technologies have failed to have an impact on total agricultural productivity. In this essay, I will therefore discuss the nature of the extent of low soil productivity and provide suggestions on how the problem could be solved using sustainable approaches. Soil productivity can be defined as the ability of soil to support vibrant plant growth, which could result in increased crop productivity. Soil productivity is a function of a number of soil components such as nutrient availability, moisture availability, water-holding capacity and soil structure, among others. ...... half of the paper ...... h would improve the water holding capacity of the soil, most soils in Malawi cannot hold enough water to improve the moisture content of the soil. This makes it difficult for nutrients to dissolve and be available to plants, resulting in low soil productivity leading to low crop productivity. Additionally, management practices that encourage excessive runoff also contribute to lack of moisture in the soil because most rainwater is directed into rivers and streams instead of remaining in the soil for plant growth. Evidence of this is demonstrated when the country experiences short periods of drought during the growing season where most fields (particularly corn fields) experience crop wilting which could possibly affect productivity. According to Yates (2009), droughts and droughts destroy on average 4.6% of maize production in Malawi.