scholarly journals Soil Nutrients and Maize Yields Responses to Agroforestry Tree Post-fallows Management in Tanzania

Author(s):  
Vincent G. Vyamana ◽  
Shabani A.O. Chamshama ◽  
Samora Macrice Andrew

Abstract Agriculture forms a backbone of many countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) thus has the potential to contribute to achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, agriculture in the SSA is characterized by low production due to soil fertility depletion. Use of appropriate low input agricultural technologies may increase production and benefit smallholder farmers through increased productivity in already degraded land. A field experiment was established to assess tree coppice intercropping of Albizia harveyi and Albizia versicolor for soil fertility and maize yield improvements in Morogoro, Tanzania. Tree fallows of A. versicolor aged three years increased significantly soil organic Carbon, Calcium, Magnesium and Potassium. Yields of maize grain, cobs and stover in maize fields intercropped with A. versicolor were significantly higher than those with A. harveyi. Fields with continuous maize cropping had the least yields of grain, cobs and stover. The studied agroforestry tree species are recommended for rotational woodlots and short rotation coppice systems to enhance agricultural productivity for achieving SDGs.

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. e0253412
Author(s):  
Segla Roch Cedrique Zossou ◽  
Patrice Ygue Adegbola ◽  
Brice Tiburce Oussou ◽  
Gustave Dagbenonbakin ◽  
Roch Mongbo

The decline of soil fertility is a major constraint which results in lower levels of crop productivity, agricultural development and food security in Sub-Saharan Africa. This study is the first to perform a focalized investigation on the most interesting technological profiles to offer to each category of producers in Benin agricultural development hubs (ADHs) using the stated preference method, more precisely, the improved choice experiment method. The investigation focused on 1047 sampled plots from 962 randomly selected producers in villages of the Smallholder Agricultural Productivity Enhancement Program in Sub-Saharan Africa of the ADHs. An analysis of the experimental choice data with the endogenous attribute attendance and the latent class models was carried out to account for the attribute non-attendance phenomenon and the heterogeneity of the producers’ preferences. However, three classes of producer with different socio-economic, demographic, and soil physicochemical characteristics were identified. Thus, the heterogeneity of preferences was correlated with the attributes linked to the cost, sustainability, and frequency of plot maintenance. All producers, regardless of the ADHs, had a strong attachment to accessibility of technologies with short time restoration of soil fertility, and the ability to obtain additional benefits. These latest attributes, added to that relating to cost, tended to have a low probability of rejection in the decision-making process. These results have implications for local decision-makers facing the complex problem of resolving land degradation and local economic development challenges. The generalizability of these findings provides useful insight and direction for future studies in Sub-Saharan Africa.


2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 14
Author(s):  
Elias Kuntashula

There has been low uptake of soil fertility improving tree technologies that have been promoted as alternatives to the costly inorganic fertiliser among the poor resource farmers of Sub Saharan Africa. This is surprising given that the majority of smallholder farmers cannot afford inorganic fertilisers. Are these technologies effective? Using data collected in 2013 from 1,231 households across six districts of Zambia, this study showed that the tree technologies increased maize productivity. However, increases in maize productivity were less than those obtained from controlled on-station and field experiments where the technologies could double or more than double maize productivity according to literature. The technologies capacity to marginally contribute to wealth creation was confirmed. Socioeconomic constraints including labour, information access, land and credit need to be tackled for the technologies to give maximum benefits. Research on fertiliser trees should therefore be redirected towards the discovery of such resource constraints saving technologies. 


2020 ◽  
Vol 162 (3) ◽  
pp. 1213-1229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oscar J. Cacho ◽  
Jonathan Moss ◽  
Philip K. Thornton ◽  
Mario Herrero ◽  
Ben Henderson ◽  
...  

Abstract Climate change is threatening food security in many tropical countries, where a large proportion of food is produced by vulnerable smallholder farmers. Interventions are available to offset many of the negative impacts of climate change on agriculture, and they can be tailored to local conditions often through relative modest investments. However, little quantitative information is available to guide investment or policy choices at a time when countries and development agencies are under pressure to implement policies that can help achieve Sustainable Development Goals while coping with climate change. Among smallholder adaptation options, developing seeds resilient to current and future climate shocks expected locally is one of the most important actions available now. In this paper, we used national and local data to estimate the costs of climate change to smallholder farmers in Malawi and Tanzania. We found that the benefits from adopting resilient seeds ranged between 984 million and 2.1 billion USD during 2020–2050. Our analysis demonstrates the benefits of establishing and maintaining a flexible national seed sector with participation by communities in the breeding, delivery, and adoption cycle.


2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prosper I. Massawe ◽  
Kelvin M. Mtei ◽  
Linus K. Munishi ◽  
Patrick A. Ndakidemi

Declining crops yield in the smallholder farmers cropping systems of sub-Saharan African (SSA) present the need to develop more sustainable production systems. Depletion of essential plant nutrients from the soils have been cited as the main contributing factors due to continues cultivation of cereal crops without application of organic/ inorganic fertilizers. Of all the plant nutrients, reports showed that nitrogen is among the most limiting plant nutrient as it plays crucial roles in the plant growth and physiological processes. The most efficient way of adding nitrogen to the soils is through inorganic amendments. However, this is an expensive method and creates bottleneck to smallholder farmers in most countries of sub-Saharan Africa. Legumes are potential sources of plant nutrients that complement/supplement inorganic fertilizers for cereal crops because of their ability to fix biological nitrogen (N) when included to the cropping systems. By fixing atmospheric N2, legumes offer the most effective way of increasing the productivity of poor soils either in monoculture, intercropping, crop rotations, or mixed cropping systems. This review paper discuses the role of cereal legume intercropping systems on soil fertility improvement, its impact on weeds, pests, diseases and water use efficiency, the biological nitrogen fixation, the amounts of N transferred to associated cereal crops, nutrients uptake and partition, legume biomass decomposition and mineralization, grain yields, land equivalent ratio and economic benefits.


1969 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 85-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Per Kalvig ◽  
Niels Fold ◽  
Jesper Bosse Jønsson ◽  
Elisante Elisaimon Mshiu

Poor soils are a major cause of poverty in sub-Saharan Africa, and thus restoration of soil fertility is a significant challenge for sustainable agriculture. Some of the main resources required, e.g. phosphate and lime, are present in many African countries and can be used by smallholder farmers in a relatively unprocessed form instead of expensive commercial fertilisers. Here we present a small study of the Mbeya region in Tanzania, which locally has both phosphate and lime.


1970 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 421-439
Author(s):  
C. Sebatta ◽  
J. Mugisha ◽  
F. Bagamba ◽  
E.A. Nuppenau ◽  
S.E. Domptail ◽  
...  

Sustainably intensifying rural agricultural systems is now a development goal that has gained momentum in the recent decades due to a rapidly growing population and feeds directly into the Sustainable Development Goals of ending poverty and hunger. By 2050, the world will be inhabited by 10 billion people, 68% of whom will be city dwellers which will pose serious food and livelihoods security threats to millions of people, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. The objective of this study was to analyse technical efficiency of four production systems in Arabica coffee-banana farming system of the Mt. Elgon in Uganda and assesses possibilities for switching from one system to another. The study was motivated by the notion that smallholder farmers do not easily adopt new systems because of opportunity costs related to input substitution, input and/or efficiency reduction and systems redesigning. We estimated a production function to measure technical efficiency and ordered the intensification pathways to create a Technical Efficiency (TE) gradient. An ordered logit model was then estimated to determine the factors influencing farmers to switch among systems, by adopting one or more following a TE gradient. Results showed that farmers produced 50% of the maximum possible Arabica coffee output, indicating huge gaps between actual and potential yields. Use of fertiliser for the lowest efficiency. Low-input-low-output pathway and improved coffee genotypes, manure and labour intensification for the higher technical efficiency clusters such as conventional and mild agroecological would also significantly increase the chances of switching from low to highly efficient and sustainable Arabica coffee production systems in the Mt. Elgon watershed of Uganda.


2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1237-1261
Author(s):  
P. Musinguzi ◽  
P. Ebanyat ◽  
J. S. Tenywa ◽  
T. A. Basamba ◽  
M. M. Tenywa ◽  
...  

Abstract. Simple and affordable soil fertility ratings are essential, particularly for the resource-constrained farmers in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in planning and implementing prudent interventions. A study was conducted on Ferralsols in Uganda, to evaluate farmer-field-based soil fertility assessment procedures, hereafter referred to as farmer' field experiences (FFE), for ease of use (simplicity) and precision, against more formal scientific quantitative ratings using soil organic carbon (SQR-SOC). A total of 30 fields were investigated and rated using both approaches, as low, medium and high in terms of soil fertility, with maize as the test crop. Based on maize yield, both rating techniques were fairly precise in delineating soil fertility classes, though the FFE approach showed mixed responses. Soil organic carbon in the top soil (0–15 cm) was exceptionally influential, explaining > 70% in yield variance. Each unit rise in SOC concentration resulted in 966–1223 kg ha−1 yield gain. The FFE approach was effective in identifying low fertility fields, which was coherent with the fields categorized as low (SOC < 1.2%). Beyond this level, its precision can be remarkably increased when supplemented with the SOC procedure.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas Gumbo ◽  
Menas Wuta ◽  
Isaiah Nyagumbo

Abstract Smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa are increasingly exposed to risks such as erratic rainfall, prolonged dry spells, and frequent droughts that threaten sustainable crop production. This study assessed the effectiveness of dead level contours with innovations (DLC INN), dead level contours with infiltration pits (DLC INFIL), dead level contours with open channels (DLC OPEN) and standard graded contours (SGCs) in harvesting and storing water in the channel, improving crop conditions during the critical stages of maize growth on different soil textural groups in the Zvishavane District of Zimbabwe. The DLC INFIL, DLC OPEN and DLC INN outperformed the SGC under medium- and heavy-textured soils, with yields ranging between 1.7 and 2.36 t/ha compared to 0.9 t/ha for the SGC. For light textured soils, the DLC INN had the highest maize yield, averaging 0.8 t/ha. On heavy textured soils using DLC INN, DLC INFIL and DLC OPEN, smallholder farmers may use a spacing interval of 24–27 m. On medium textured soils, DLC INN and DLC INFIL can be used at a spacing interval of 18–21 m and 12 to 15 m with DLC OPEN. On light textured soils, farmers are advised to invest in DLC INN only, using a spacing interval of 12–15 m.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1158
Author(s):  
Cecilia M. Onyango ◽  
Justine M. Nyaga ◽  
Johanna Wetterlind ◽  
Mats Söderström ◽  
Kristin Piikki

Opportunities exist for adoption of precision agriculture technologies in all parts of the world. The form of precision agriculture may vary from region to region depending on technologies available, knowledge levels and mindsets. The current review examined research articles in the English language on precision agriculture practices for increased productivity among smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa. A total of 7715 articles were retrieved and after screening 128 were reviewed. The results indicate that a number of precision agriculture technologies have been tested under SSA conditions and show promising results. The most promising precision agriculture technologies identified were the use of soil and plant sensors for nutrient and water management, as well as use of satellite imagery, GIS and crop-soil simulation models for site-specific management. These technologies have been shown to be crucial in attainment of appropriate management strategies in terms of efficiency and effectiveness of resource use in SSA. These technologies are important in supporting sustainable agricultural development. Most of these technologies are, however, at the experimental stage, with only South Africa having applied them mainly in large-scale commercial farms. It is concluded that increased precision in input and management practices among SSA smallholder farmers can significantly improve productivity even without extra use of inputs.


2020 ◽  
Vol 47 ◽  
pp. 95-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonja Leitner ◽  
David E Pelster ◽  
Christian Werner ◽  
Lutz Merbold ◽  
Elizabeth M Baggs ◽  
...  

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