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 Qualified to manage fertiliser programmes Employs 3.5 million directly million indirectly Earns 73.7 billion Ksh in foreign exchange / % of exports grown by SSF

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)

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

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

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

Soil Fertility Problem Impoverished small 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

Poverty Cycle impoverished farmers = impoverished soils

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

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

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

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

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

Contact us Collaborative development programmes? Capacity Building?