Uganda’s soil fertility lowering â€" research
Jul 15, 2011
TWO percent of Uganda’s smallholder farmers use inorganic fertilizers, a soil scientist with the Kawanda National Agricultural Research Laboratory soils Fertility Management Unit has said.
By John Kasozi
TWO percent of Uganda’s smallholder farmers use inorganic fertilizers, a soil scientist with the Kawanda National Agricultural Research Laboratory soils Fertility Management Unit has said.
Dr. Cranimer Kayuki Kaizzi said Uganda’s soil fertility is going down without adding fertilizers.
“Ugandan farmers continue to remove nutrients from the garden everyday through sweet potato vines, banana leaves and suckers when they are being delivered to the market,†Kaizzi said.
He added that soil fertility is also lost through soil erosion. Uganda’s soil fertility is found within the top 20cm layer that is prone to erosion.
Addressing stakeholders at Kawanda during the one-day annual review and planning workshop yesterday, Kaizzi said this had resulted into continued low crop yields yet the population was increasing.
“The yields are only increasing by expanding farming activities to wetlands and forests reserves. The wetlands continue to be utilised because they receive fertile (alluvial) soils from up hill. A good example is Doho Rice Irrigation Scheme that receives nutrients from Mountain Elgon,†he explained.
Kaizzi added that the average inorganic fertilizers added by a Ugandan farmer are less than one kilogramme (230gms) per hectare each year.
He said the Abuja Declaration 2006, which the Government ratified, targeted 50kg per hectare each year.
“The soils are gone. We are recycling poverty. Ugandans should have started applying fertilizers yesterday not today. Soils are like a bank account. They need fertilizer deposits to be re-energised,†Kaizzi said.
Farmers in Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa on average apply 200-400kgs per hectare, per year respectively, while those in Kenya use 23kg.
“The fertilizer application carried out in 2009/2011 by farmers in Tororo, Kapchorwa, Dokolo, Lira, Apac, Kumi, Kawanda, Iganga, Arua, Bulindi and Hoima districts has shown that beans, soya bean and groundnuts can increase production when fertilizers are applied,†said Kaizzi.
Some of these crops were planted with and without applying fertilizers on one-hectare after applying 15kg of inorganic fertilizer phosphates.
The beans planted with and without fertilizers yielded 1,350kg and 850kg, an increase of 500kg, soya bean 1,670kg and 750kg and groundnuts 1,310kg and 600kg correspondingly.
“We trained farmers in these districts to find out how their maize, sorghum, upland rice, beans, groundnuts and soya beans respond to fertilizer application. The work was done on-station and under farm management conditions,†explained Kaizzi.
He said the economic rate of fertilizers returns application cost per kilogramme for legumes proved satisfactory.
“Farmers can afford to buy more fertilizers and have increased yields,†the scientist said.
He, however, said the performance of fertilizers depends on the soils, weather, crop management and their application.
There are also variations in crop response depending on different fertilizers. But there is need to blend fertilizers.
“You can replace nutrient loss by using inorganic or organic fertilizers or a combination of the two depending on the amount of money you have,†Kaizzi advised.
He confirmed that fertilizers can improve crop yields, but that the challenge to smallholder farmers is the price of fertilizers.
“The Government should intervene and help farmers access fertilizers by targeting subsidies as is the case in Malawi,†Kaizzi said.
TWO percent of Uganda’s smallholder farmers use inorganic fertilizers, a soil scientist with the Kawanda National Agricultural Research Laboratory soils Fertility Management Unit has said.
Dr. Cranimer Kayuki Kaizzi said Uganda’s soil fertility is going down without adding fertilizers.
“Ugandan farmers continue to remove nutrients from the garden everyday through sweet potato vines, banana leaves and suckers when they are being delivered to the market,†Kaizzi said.
He added that soil fertility is also lost through soil erosion. Uganda’s soil fertility is found within the top 20cm layer that is prone to erosion.
Addressing stakeholders at Kawanda during the one-day annual review and planning workshop yesterday, Kaizzi said this had resulted into continued low crop yields yet the population was increasing.
“The yields are only increasing by expanding farming activities to wetlands and forests reserves. The wetlands continue to be utilised because they receive fertile (alluvial) soils from up hill. A good example is Doho Rice Irrigation Scheme that receives nutrients from Mountain Elgon,†he explained.
Kaizzi added that the average inorganic fertilizers added by a Ugandan farmer are less than one kilogramme (230gms) per hectare each year.
He said the Abuja Declaration 2006, which the Government ratified, targeted 50kg per hectare each year.
“The soils are gone. We are recycling poverty. Ugandans should have started applying fertilizers yesterday not today. Soils are like a bank account. They need fertilizer deposits to be re-energised,†Kaizzi said.
Farmers in Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa on average apply 200-400kgs per hectare, per year respectively, while those in Kenya use 23kg.
“The fertilizer application carried out in 2009/2011 by farmers in Tororo, Kapchorwa, Dokolo, Lira, Apac, Kumi, Kawanda, Iganga, Arua, Bulindi and Hoima districts has shown that beans, soya bean and groundnuts can increase production when fertilizers are applied,†said Kaizzi.
Some of these crops were planted with and without applying fertilizers on one-hectare after applying 15kg of inorganic fertilizer phosphates.
The beans planted with and without fertilizers yielded 1,350kg and 850kg, an increase of 500kg, soya bean 1,670kg and 750kg and groundnuts 1,310kg and 600kg correspondingly.
“We trained farmers in these districts to find out how their maize, sorghum, upland rice, beans, groundnuts and soya beans respond to fertilizer application. The work was done on-station and under farm management conditions,†explained Kaizzi.
He said the economic rate of fertilizers returns application cost per kilogramme for legumes proved satisfactory.
“Farmers can afford to buy more fertilizers and have increased yields,†the scientist said.
He, however, said the performance of fertilizers depends on the soils, weather, crop management and their application.
There are also variations in crop response depending on different fertilizers. But there is need to blend fertilizers.
“You can replace nutrient loss by using inorganic or organic fertilizers or a combination of the two depending on the amount of money you have,†Kaizzi advised.
He confirmed that fertilizers can improve crop yields, but that the challenge to smallholder farmers is the price of fertilizers.
“The Government should intervene and help farmers access fertilizers by targeting subsidies as is the case in Malawi,†Kaizzi said.