UN Division for Sustainable Development

Case Study Detail Record

Organization type:	Government

Name of Ministry/Agency:	Ministry of Agriculture

Country:	Kenya

Name of Focal Point:	Tom Apina

Initiative Title:	Conservation agriculture for smallholder farmers in dryland areas, Laikipia District, Kenya

Internet links:	http://www.act.co.ke http://www.sustainet.org http://www.fao.org/ag/ca/ http://www.fao.org/sard/en/init/2224/index.html

Scope:

Status:	Completed

Timeframe:	Start: 2004 End: 2006

Lead Institution:	African Conservation Tillage Network/Sustainet,

Stakeholders/Partners:	German Trust Fund Ministry of Agriculture (Kenya) FAO

Relevent issues:	- Enhancing agricultural productivity through adequate and sustainable inputs - Agrarian reform - Water management in agriculture - Land restoration and soil productivities policies and practices - Africa - Others - Kenya

Objectives/Challenges:

The goal of Conservation Agriculture(CA) is to maintain and improve crop yields and resilience against drought and other hazards, while at the same time protect and stimulate the biological function of the soil. Crops are seeded or planted through the soil cover with special equipment. The soil cover inhibits the germination of many weed seeds, minimizing weed competition with the crop. Since in the first few years, there may be the need to apply herbicides, knowledge of specific locations where weeds grow is very important. However, the approach intends to arrive at weed management through agronomic means (soil cover, cover crops) or minimal mechanical means (shallow weeding with hoe).

Lessons Learned:

• Dolichos lab used in CA as a source of soil cover was highly adopted by small scale farmers in the district. This was due to the fact that apart from the property of fixing Nitrogen in the soil, its seeds are considered a delicacy by the Kikuyu and Meru tribes which live in the district.
• Use of jab planters reduced the workforce of the household during planting. The equipment used for direct seeding, can also spread fertilizer and seeds simultaneously, reducing the workload: a single person can now perform the work initially undertaken by three persons.
• Farmer field days and farmers to farmers exchange visits facilitated by the project attracted the participation of small scale farmers within the district and other stakeholders such as equipment manufactures and hires, chemical companies, seed companies, fertilizer companies among others.
• Farmer field schools were backstopped by subject matter specialists, including local and international consultants that gave training on key, essential subjects. These included weed and cover crop management, gender and group dynamics, equipment access and utilization, efficiency on the use of chemical and fertilizer, among others.

The following problems have not been resolved yet:
• Weed management for those farmers that are reluctant to herbicide utilization needs further research. Some mechanical shallow weeding should be perceived acceptable within the CA approach;
• Cover crop management, especially hyacinth bean (Dolichos lablab), is a challenge to most farmers. This is due to the fact that it can easily outgrow the main crop such as maize and suffocates it if not planted at the correct time.
• Access to CA equipments by farmers is a challenge since they are not available at the local equipment distributor outlets; increased private sector involvement in field days and project activities is therefore recommended for follow up phase;
• Dissemination of information on CA for awareness creation among small scale farmers needs to be reinforced for greater impact.

Policy Options:

An essential element of CA is planning crop sequences over several seasons, to minimize the build-up of pests or diseases and to optimize plant nutrient use by synergy between different crop types and by alternating shallowrooting crops with deep-rooting ones.
Farmers need access to inputs and resources so that they can test and adopt the technology. Institutional support and outreach are needed.
For a succinct yet authoratative overview of Policy options concerning Conservation Agriculture in Africa, see the SARD and Conservation Agriculture Policy Brief on the FAO/ SARD Initiative website http://www.fao.org/sard/en/init/2980/2378/index.html

Summary:

Conservation Agriculture (CA) is a farming practice based on integrated management of soil, water and agricultural resources. Three essential features of conservation agriculture are: 1) no-tillage, 2) maintenance of a cover of (live or dead) vegetal material on the soil surface and 3) crop rotation/association.

The Laikipia District is situated in the rain shadow of Mt. Kenya which creates a generally unreliable, inadequate and unevenly distributed rainfall pattern. The climate is predominantly semi arid, with rainfall pattern varying from uni-modal to
a tropical bimodal pattern. This means that the area experience either both the short rains (occurring from October to December) and the long rains (occurring from April to July) or sometimes only the long rains. The climatic influence of the mountain landmass produces a steep ecological gradient on the plateau, giving rise to several (altitude-related) agro-ecological zones ranging from sub-humid (agro climatic zone IV) to semi-arid (agro-climatic zones V and VI). Seventy five per cent of the total land area is devoted to livestock production and game parks/reserves leading to overstocking resulting in a high rate of soil and environmental degradation. Over the years, the yield of most crops grown by farmers have declined by 40% due to several factors among which continued tillage was identified as one of the most principal causes. Frequent tillage operations expose and destroy the soil micro organisms, release carbon to the atmosphere and put the ozone layer at the danger of depletion.

The project trained village based facilitators on farmer field school approach and CA principles. This led to establishment of a two FFS in the district with a total membership of 55 individuals, with 50-50 gender balance. The FFS has strengthened the group cohesion and understanding among small holder farmers.

Smallholder farmers in arid and semi arid areas have been able to increase their yield by 30-40%, as a consequence of in situ water harvesting methods and technologies which are part of CA approach. Additionally, weed management entailed before high cost and intensive labour and was one of the greatest challenges faced by smallholder farmers; at present the use of cover crop hinder the germination of weeds and make weed suppression an easier job (Mucuna spp for example has Dihydroxyphenylalanine which causes suppression of weeds such as Striga hermonthica and Cynadon dactylon among many others). Some species as the leguminous have the added value of improving soil fertility.

Before the introduction of CA techniques, intensive cultivation resulted in development of hard pan/plough pans which were hindering plant root growth and water infiltration into the soil. Subsequent introduction of specific crop rotation/association under CA promoted biological sub soiling and hence saved the farmer the cost of hiring or using mechanical means. Such rotation/association of crops also helped in breaking the crop pest and disease.