Abstract
Organic nutrient sources (ONS) are managed as a key resource by smallholder farmers to maintain the productivity of soils. Recycling of ONS by applying them to soils is a globally dominant strategy of ecological nutrient management. Understanding how ONS produced on-farm are allocated and what drives farmer decision making around their use is critical for sustainable nutrient management in smallholder agroecosystems. Using focus group discussions and a survey of 184 farming households, we studied socio-economic, socio-cultural, and environmental drivers of ONS allocation and use at the farm scale in three contrasting agroecological zones of western Kenya. Farm typologies of ONS management were also developed using cluster analysis based on resource endowment and the connectedness of farmers, management norms, and interaction with extension. Our findings suggest that the more resource endowed a farmer is, the more ONS are allocated to the main plot within the farm. We also observed that farmers preferred allocating more resources to plots that were considered more fertile. Land tenure had an important influence, in that main plots not owned by farmers were more likely to retain ONS such as crop residues. Management of residues is dependent on farmer gender, for instance, female farmers tended to burn legume residues in particular, which is notable since these higher quality residues are often considered key to sustainable soil nutrient management. Farm typologies featured different allocation patterns of ONS and were associated with resource endowment and farmer networks, including external ties to extension agents and internal ties to other farmers. Finally, there was a strong overarching influence of agroecological zone that often escapes characterization on the allocation of ONS. As research and development organizations continue to engage with smallholder farmers to reduce the burden of global food insecurity, the insights gained by this research will allow better anticipation of drivers and obstacles to improved nutrient management in these farming landscapes and communities.
Highlights
On many smallholder farms around the world, crop yields remain low or are declining due to inherently poor soils and inadequate soil fertility management, among other factors (Sheahan and Barrett, 2017; Khalid et al, 2019)
Relevant quotes from the focus group discussions illustrate broadly how farmers consider the themes of crop residue and manure allocation, gender responsibilities and trade-offs in organic nutrient sources (ONS) management (Table 5)
Soil fertility status refers to the main plot vs. the secondary plot according to the farmer’s perception, main plot usually perceived as more fertile. †The study concentrated on the allocation of ONS to the main plot because half of the farmers did not have a secondary plot and of those that had, less than half applied any ONS to it. **We looked at 3 dependent variables for cattle manure allocation as is normally done in the 3 areas (i) adding cattle manure to compost and/ or composting it before applying to the field and (ii) applying it to the field directly without composting (iii) combining the composted and uncomposted cattle manure
Summary
On many smallholder farms around the world, crop yields remain low (i.e., around 1 Mg ha−1 for staple cereals; Tittonell and Giller, 2013) or are declining due to inherently poor soils and inadequate soil fertility management, among other factors (Sheahan and Barrett, 2017; Khalid et al, 2019). Recycling organic nutrient sources (ONS) produced on farm by applying them to soils, with or without mineral fertilizer additions, can increase soil organic matter (SOM) and nutrient cycling, and improve soil health (Agegnehu and Amede, 2017). Smallholder farmers produce and manage organic resources such as crop residues (Valbuena et al, 2012; Turmel et al, 2015), animal manure (Rufino et al, 2007) and farmyard manure/compost on farm They may collect off-farm organic resources, such as forest litter or plant residues from field margins, to apply in their soils as a key source of nutrients for their crops (Nekesa et al, 2007; Nganga et al, 2020). Practices involving ONS have been shown to minimize losses through leaching and erosion and improve nutrient use efficiency (Agegnehu and Amede, 2017)
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