Some Facts About Fertilizer Use in Africa: The Case of Smallholder and Large-Scale Farmers in Kenya

Abstract

It is argued that for a green revolution to take place in Africa, fertilizer use must be increased from the current average of 8 kg ha–1 to around 50 kg ha–1 by 2015. This was a major issue tackled by the African Fertilizer Summit and endorsed by the African Heads of States at Abuja, Nigeria, in June 2006. This chapter assesses fertilizer situation in Kenya versus the agreed milestones which include that (i) the African governments should take appropriate policy measures to reduce price of fertilizers by mid-2007; (ii) African Union Member States should take concrete measures to increase access to fertilizers by scaling up the network of agro-input dealers and community networks by mid-2007; (iii) African Union Member States should specially address the needs of the farmers and (iv) African Union Member States should work with development partners to tackle issues relating to subsidies that favour the fertilizer sector including infrastructure. In order to provide insight into some of these, we carried out a survey in Kiambu, Thika and Nairobi districts to establish the extent of fertilizer use in the area with a view to determining if the African Dream of the “green revolution” is realizable as planned. The study area was selected due to its strategic contribution to the agricultural economy of Kenya through coffee and tea. Results indicate that only large-scale coffee and tea farmers apply sufficient quantities of fertilizer. High price of fertilizers and overall access to it still remain unresolved issues among smallholder farmers.