Chikowo, Regis

Kihara, Job

Kimaro, Anthony A.

Swamila, M.

Kihara, Job Maguta

CGSpace

Managing soil as a natural resource for Sustainable intensification in East and Southern AfricaKihara J1, Kimaro A. A2, Chikowo R3 and Swamila, M2,41CIAT; 2World Agroforestry Centre, 3Michigan State University, 4Sokoine University of Agriculture Key messages• Use of fertilizers combined with organic resources such as manure are increasing crop productivity and profitability in farmer fields• Farmers are increasingly aware of the benefits of soil fertility management practices demonstrated within Africa RISING• Variable responses of crops to organic and inorganic resources are calling for more site-specific recommendations. This poster is licensed for use under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence. January 2017We thank farmers and local partners in Africa RISING sites for their contributions to this research. We also acknowledge the support of all donors which globally support the work of the CGIAR centers and their partners through their contributions to the CGIAR systemObjectives and approachResearch teams across ESA project identified technologies that present the best opportunity to increase productivity under variable contexts: This entailed…1. Best performing crop varieties for different ecozones2. Microdosing P from different sources to maximize agronomic efficiency and crop yield3. Combinations of organic and inorganic nutrient sources including cereal-legume rotations/intercroppingKey resultsA. Malawi• Application of high quality (chicken) manure increased (P<0.05) grain yield of different beans varieties by at least 53% both in pure stands in bean-maize intercrops relative to control. • Maize after cowpea applied with only 50% of NP fertilizer, achieve same maize yield as that with 100% NP fertilizer for two consecutive seasons; and co-application of NP with manure yielded an additional 500 kg ha-1. B. Tanzania• New varieties (including MeruHB513 and MeruHB515) perform equally to SC627 and are becoming a good alternative for farmers (Table 2). • In 2 of 3 ecozones of Babati (Tanzania), combined N and P application increased yields by 32-68% relative to single nutrients; P is not required in the 3rd ecozone. • Both application of Minjingu mazao and DAP are highly profitable in most sites tested, attracting a marginal rate of return of >2 (Table 1). • YARA fertilizers perform similarly to Minjingu in Kongwa Kiteto(these and also DAP lead to yield increases of 22 to 84% depending on site)• Application of 15 kg P ha-1 is a cost effective rate and can be adopted for semiarid areas of Tanzania as there is no national fertilizer recommendation for this ecozoneSignificance and scaling potential• ISFM options demonstrated are suitable for different ecozones and potential for different components including basic agronomic practices is evident to farmers (Figure 1)• Over 800 baby farmers are observing profitable yield increases and there is potential to extend this to over 1m smallholder farmers in the maize-pigeonpea growing zones of Tanzania and Malawi.  Figure 1: Crop performance with and without fertilizer application in Babati, Tanzania, left adjacent field for the same farmer with typical farmer practiceBabati 2015/16 Kongwa Kiteto 2013/14Low rainfallHigh rainfallLow rainfallHigh rainfallDAP 2.3 2.4 - -Minjingu Mazao 2.1 1.6 1.9 2.3Table 1: Marginal rate of return for two fertilizer types in Tanzania  SC 627  DK 8031  PIONEER  3253  PAN 4M 19  Total  Rank   SC 627   SC 627 Pioneer 3253 SC 627 2 2  DK 8031   Pioneer 3253 DK 8031 1 3  PIONEER 3253    Pioneer 3253 3 1  PAN 4M 19     0 4  Table 2: Variety ranking based on a participatory evaluation by farmersP is applied at 20 kg/ha in Babati and 15 kg/ha in Kongwa Kiteto. N is applied at 60 kg/ha in all sites

Managing soil as a natural resource for sustainable intensification in East and Southern Africa

https://cgspace.cgiar.org/bitstream/10568/80591/1/AR_dar217_kihara2.pdf

Managing soil as a natural resource for sustainable intensification in East and Southern Africa

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