This archive report was first published on 20 July 2019.
Kenya's soil fertility is in decline, with most soils becoming acidic due to overuse of fertiliser, as studies have shown. This is a major concern for farmers, who need to find a remedy to improve production.
William Ngeno, the country manager of Yara East Africa, a fertiliser-making company, spoke to Anita Chepkoech about how farmers can boost their soil fertility. He explained that the solution lies in utilising enriched fertilisers that provide both macro and micronutrients to suit crop demand and nutrient removal.
According to Ngeno, the problem is that farmers have been continually applying only two nutrients, nitrogen and phosphorous, through common fertilisers such as DAP, urea, and CAN. However, plants require more than 10 key nutrients for proper growth, and continuous cropping without replenishing these nutrients leads to a decline in soil fertility.
One way to address this issue is to retain crop residues on-farm, which will contribute to increasing soil fertility. Farmers should desist from burning crop residues, as this can lead to soil mining.
Another aspect of the problem is that more than 63 per cent of Kenya's soils are acidic, which means most of the fertilisers being used contribute to soil acidity. Ngeno recommends switching to non-acidifying fertilisers to avoid making a bad situation worse.
However, the long-term sustainable solution is to incorporate liming programmes into cropping plans. This will reduce acidity over a period of 4-5 years.
Yara East Africa produces crop-specific fertilisers that are different from the rest. The company focuses on ensuring the supply of key nutrients for each crop to drive increased crop productivity and quality at a relatively low cost to farmers, ease of application, and non-acidification of soils.
Increased use of the right fertilisers will significantly contribute to high crop productivity and quality. Ngeno believes that it's time to switch to multi-nutrient fertilisers, rather than relying on the fertiliser subsidy programme, which has not shown significant results over the past five years.
When asked about organic fertilisers, Ngeno believes that they are a niche segment targeting specific market demands that are able to pay a premium to farmers. However, for poor economies like Kenya, where food security is still elusive and subsistence farming is the mainstay, modern technologies that can swiftly change the dire situation while being watchful of the environment are needed.
