1 / 14

Overcoming Soil Infertility

Overcoming Soil Infertility. Louise Labuschagne, (Real IPM Kenya Ltd). Good Soil Fertility. Export Horticulture - GAP Produce compost and returnorganic matter to soil Rotate crops to maintain soil fertility Invest in drip irrigation Test soils for pH and NPK

conor
Download Presentation

Overcoming Soil Infertility

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Overcoming Soil Infertility Louise Labuschagne, (Real IPM Kenya Ltd)

  2. Good Soil Fertility • Export Horticulture - GAP • Produce compost and returnorganic matter to soil • Rotate crops to maintain soil fertility • Invest in drip irrigation • Test soils for pH and NPK • Qualified to manage fertiliser programmes • Employs 3.5 million directly + 4.5 million indirectly • Earns 73.7 billion Ksh in foreign exchange / 2008 • 60% of exports grown by SSF

  3. What’s the real problem? Natural tendency to phosphate deficiency Naturally acidic soils Managed by export farmers Not managed by SSF (if not involved in export sector)

  4. Real IPM – SSF Programme DFID – funded programme Gro Plus Call Centre database of 50,000 SSF Western Kenya Gro Plus seed treatments - > yield by 10 - 20% Costs 130/- of Gro Plus per 2 kg of seed Maize planted at 20 kg of seed / ha or 4 kg/acre

  5. Real IPM – SSF Programme SIDA – funded programme Organic Matter mapping Soil sampling in Western, Central and Coast Farmer Practice (crops, soil fertility management) Report due in two months

  6. Real IPM – SSF Programme KENFAP – funded programme bio-slurry from biogas units Replicated trials - cabbages Recording yields – application rates Report due in three months

  7. Soil Fertility Problem • Impoverishedsmall scale farmers (not in export) • tend to be: • risk averse • purchase insufficient inputs to ensure yields • don’t analyse soil • conservative land use strategies (maize and cows) • less aware of the importance of pH • reliant on agrovets for advice

  8. Poverty Cycle impoverished farmers = impoverished soils

  9. Long term solution No ‘quick fix’ Solution Good Agricultural Practice – rotation, recycling organic matter Competent advisors (pH & fertiliser programmes) Competent advisors (crop protection programmes) Competent Training of Trainers

  10. Mitigation Real IPM (Kenya) Ltd www.realipm.com FACTS (UK diploma for Fertiliser Advisors) BASIS (UK diploma for Crop Protection Advisors) Crop-specific IPM courses for Self-Help Groups Training of Trainers Also available: Bio-fertilisers Phosphate starter seed treatment (Gro Plus)

  11. Bio-fertilisers Trichoderma asperellum & Bacillus subtilis Registered in South Africa as bio-fertilisers Use on any crop – seed treatment, spray and drench Solubilize phosphate from soil Promote root growth

  12. Bio-fertilisers Rhizobium Seed treatment for beans Symbiotic relationship with bean roots Fixes nitrogen in air – makes it available to plant Must incorporate crop residues for soil fertility

  13. Mitigation Real Impact NGO www.realimpact.or.ke Demonstration and Training Pile composting Vermi-fertiliser production (liquid and solid) Crop Rotation Agro-Nutrition Planting programmes + nutritionally balanced menus DFID, USAID, Leonard Cheshire Homes funded programmes

  14. Contact us Collaborative development programmes? Capacity Building?

More Related