Utilization Of Soil Fertility Management Knowledge Among Smallholder Farmers In Chakol Division, Kenya

ABSTRACT

This study investigated soil fertility knowledge and how it influenced the selection and effective use of various soil fertility technologies among smallholder farmers in Chakol Division of Teso District in western Kenya. Chakol Division has a high population density of approximately 427 persons per km2 while absolute poverty levels for the district stand at 56%. Poverty levels have been worsened by poor agricultural production while continuous cropping of land with little restoration of soil nutrients through application of organic manures and mineral fertilisers have contributed to the increase of soil degradation over time. The need to improve agricultural productivity through better soil fertility management is therefore paramount considering that Teso District mainly relies on agriculture with 65% of the population being involved in agricultural activities. In order to address this problem, a call for a holistic approach that is socially acceptable hence easily adaptable and fit for purpose is necessary and therefore the conception of the Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) strategy. This ISFM strategy at TSBF-CIAT aims to maximise on nutrient recycling on farms, replenish soil nutrient pools, reduce soil nutrients losses to the environment and improve the efficiency of external inputs. It was applied through the Folk Ecology Initiative (FEI) approach which attempted to strengthen farmers‘ understanding of soil fertility management through community-based interactive learning. This current study grew out of the FEI approach and it involved both quantitative and qualitative data collection techniques using questionnaire surveys, focus group discussions and in-depth interviewing. A total of ninety smallholder farmers and five key informants were interviewed while six FGDs involving thirty six farmers were carried out. SPSS was used to analyse the data collected through questionnaires and a narrative log used for the case studies. Study findings showed that farmers in Chakol had knowledge on the preparation, benefits and drawbacks of soil fertility technologies but the decisions they made towards the selection and application of technologies such as compost, natural fallows, cereal-legume rotation, biomass transfer and fertiliser were mostly affected by capital, land, labour and other social constraints. Preference was given to technologies such as farmyard manure and crop residue incorporation since they were socially convenient in terms of labour and time demands; were comparatively less complicated to apply, cheaper and easier to get. However, less accessible technologies such as mineral fertilisers, no matter how important, were least preferred or selected. It is therefore concluded that soil fertility knowledge is necessary for meaningful decision making. It played a vital role in the selection and application of soil fertility technologies. However, poverty played a major constraining role. It is therefore recommended that strategies to boost farmers‘ incomes should be strengthened. For instance, through encouraging farmers to form marketing groups and linking them to markets to generate incomes that can then be ploughed back in the recapitalisation of the local degraded soils. Alternative livelihood sources to cultivation such as bee-keeping should also be encouraged. Such enterprises as bee-keeping require lesser labour, land and capital and can therefore be profitably carried out in spite of the decreasing land sizes.