Rebuilding lost soil fertility
Soil fertility management (SFM) is the basis for sustainability in every agricultural production system. Creating favourable conditions for soil life and plant growth, nutrient application and soil conservation are important aspects of soil fertility management.
SFM is a complex issue involving many farming practices. Each farming system has its own unique way of SFM which depends on a combination of factors: the condition of the natural resource base, the land available, etc.
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4 - 5written by ILEIA editorial teamSoil fertility management is the basis for sustainability in every agricultural production system. Creating favourable conditions for soil life and plant growth, nutrient application and soil conservation are important aspects of soil fertility management. SFM is a complex issue involving many farming practices. Each farming system has its own unique way of SFM which depends on a combination of factors: the condition of the natural resource base, the land available, etc.
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6 - 8written by Maarten Siebe van WijkKenyan farmers taking part in the NUTMON study know that land productivity had been declining for years. They also know that continuous cropping and manure shortages are to blame. The aim of the NUTMON programme is to build on this consciousness and increase farmer awareness of the role of nutrients in agricultural production and to develop a tool that can assess nutrient balance and economic performance at farm level. (ILEIA)
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9 - 9written by Dilip ChinnakondaThe Agriculture Man and Ecology (AME) Programme in Bangalore, India, conducts agro-economic research in Tamil Nadu, India, comparing conventional and ecological farms. The FARMS software programme was developed to allow periodic data entry and simplify the process of analyses. (ILEIA)
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10 - 11written by Klaas NijhofSwidden agriculture is often seen as unsustainable and not adapted to present day needs. Whilst it is true that traditional swidden systems are vulnerable to pressures from contemporary society, it is surprising how little effort has been made to improve these systems by building on indigenous insights and initiatives in order to increase the economic and ecological sustainability of swidden agriculture. This article describes the innovativeness of the Mangyan swidden farmers, the indigenous inhabitants of the island of Mindoro in the Philippines, and demonstrates their ability to adapt their farming to changing needs and conditions. (ILEIA)
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12 - 13Teaching farmers that green manure and cover crops have valuable uses beside maintaining soil fertility can help sustain the widespread use and adoption of green manuring practices. (ILEIA)
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14 - 15written by Albrecht BenzingThe author, who has a great deal of experience in organic farming and is building up his own organic vegetable farm, describes the main farming systems in the valleys of the Ecuadorian Andes. Using practical examples, he gives some suggestions on how these farming systems could be improved using an organic approach. There are, however, still many questions that farmers and researchers still have to work on. (ILEIA)
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16 - 17written by K.D. SubediThe extent to which farmers' preference for particular green manure species agrees with the scientifically demonstrated value of these plants is discussed in this article of on-hill farming in Nepal. (ILEIA)
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18 - 19written by Ranjith, M.A. , Chesha WettasinhaThe green manure sesbania rostrata helps Sri Lankan farmers in managing their soil fertility. The Mahaweli System is an agriucltural settlement in the dry zone of the country.
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20 - 21written by GK UpawansaPaddy farmers in Sri Lanka face serious problems. In conventional rice cultivation, inputs are expensive and yields are low. Although new improved rice varieties have a potential return of over three tons per acre, in reality they often yield less than one and half tons. This production level reflects a history of indiscriminate agro-chemical application and the effects of soil erosion caused by inappropriate land preparation techniques. This article explores a way of mitigating the potentially disastrous consequences of this process. (ILEIA)
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22 - 24written by Gamal Zakaria , Peter LabanCEOSS, a Coptic NGO in Egypt, is making important steps in a process of change towards enhancing the self reliance of its target communities. In a pilot project in Sharoona and Nassareya, PTD is creating wonders in focusing LEISA synergy on the problems of garbage and reducing the high cost of chemical fertilisers. Women, in a participatory decision process, adopted innovative measures that would lead to cleaner stables and living space. By concentrating organic household waste, manure and urine in a pit in their in-house stable, they were able to produce an organic fertiliser that probably has a much higher nitrogen content than traditional manure. Further experiments may well lead to making an improved compost which will help farmers to decrease their inputs of chemical fertiliser by experimenting with different fertiliser combinations. The recycling of garbage through improved stables has resulted in time savings for women, improved health conditions as well as providing income earning opportunities. Participatory Technology Development (PTD) is a major trigger in this process. (ILEIA)
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25 - 25Many examples can be given of biologically-orientated working strategies that aim to increase farm soil fertility. One strategy with considerable biomass transfer potential is the gathering of green plant material from farm boundaries or outside the farm to add to the cropped area. (ILEIA)
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26 - 27Experiment-based participation research in Southern Zimbabwe has shown that land literacy leads to land conservation. Farmers who understand the dynamics of their environment are more effective in their soil preservation and water management strategies. Regional studies in Masvingo, a dry zone to the south of Harare, have shown that conventional contour ridging had little positive effect in two-thirds of the fields studied. Small, site-specific measures, however, revealed considerable potential but to use them effectively farmers need to understand the bio-physical processes at work in their fields. Whilst teaching and demonstrating standardised techniques - practices central to conventional extension work - perpetuate farmer dependence on knowledgeable outsiders, land literacy stimulates their capacity to generate creative land husbandry solutions. (ILEIA)
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28 - 29written by Roger W. SharlandIndigenous knowledge has both strengths and weaknesses. It is strong in what can be observed and weaker at understanding what is not visible. Concepts such as soil fertility and nutrients are difficult to see, but with understanding can be explained in terms acceptable to the farmer. The Moru of the Southern Sudan recognise that accumulations of wood ash provide valuable sites for cultivating ecologically specialised plants. This article demonstrates how traditional perceptions of soil and fertility were developed to teach notions of soil husbandry which the Moru, traditional shifting cultivators, could use in conditions of agricultural intensification. Understanding what the Moru already knew helped bridge the communication gap. (ILEIA)
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36 - 36In the summer of 1995, ILEIA began collaborating on a research programme to assess the viability of LEISA technology systems in three agro-ecological zones. The regions selected were of contrasting agricultural and socioeconomic potential: the high mountain valleys of Cajamarca and Huancayo in Peru; the dryland savannahs of Northern Ghana and the humid lowlands of Luzon in the Philippines
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