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Presented by Kindu Mekonnen, Gedion Rachier, Dagnachew Lule, Mesfin Bahta, Diego Valbuena, Alan Duncan and Gerard Bruno at the International Congress on Water 2011, Mekelle, Ethiopia, 19-26 September 2011.
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Competing uses, dynamics, and production and utilization constraints of crop residues in East Africa: Implications for conservation agriculture
1Kindu Mekonnen, 2Gedion Rachier, 3Dagnachew Lule, 4Mesfin Bahta, 1Diego Valbuena, 1Alan Duncan and 1Gerard Bruno
1International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), P.O.Box 5689, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 2Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), P.O.Box 169, Kakamega, Kenya3Bako Agricultural Research Center (BARC), P.O.Box 03, Bako, Ethiopia4Sirinka Agricultural Research Center (SARC), P.O.Box 74, Woldia, Ethiopia
Contents of the presentation
Introduction
Objectives of the study
Research methodologies
Research findings and discussion
Crops and crop residues
Cropping technologies
Competing uses of crop residues
Trend analysis on the use of crop residues
Production constraints of crop residues
Utilization constraints of crop residues
Implications of the present CR utilization for CA
Conclusions
Introduction
Crop residue production in the world - 3.8 billion Mg – cereals (74%), legumes (8%), oil crops (3%), sugar crops (10%) and tubers (5%) (Lal, 2005).
CRs have off-site/ product functions (feed) and on-site/ service functions (SWC).
CRs off-site uses
CRs on-site uses
The use of CRs for CA is challenged in the east African countries due to:
Studies on competing uses and other aspects of CRs are key for managing the available resources, searching more options and initiating more detailed research.
poor capacity of smallholder farmers to purchase/access various inputs and services.
lack of availability of alternatives for various competing uses of CRs.
1) investigate diversified and competing uses of crop residues
Objectives
2) analyze past trends of uses of crop residues
3) identify production and utilization constraints for crop residues
3. Research methodologies
Three sites were identified in two east African countries (Ethiopia and Kenya).
Selected 8 villages in each of the three sites based on market and road access: Near-Near, Near-Far, Far-Near and Far-Far
Identified 10-20 farmers in each village to respond as a group during the final village survey.
Considered a total of 24 villages in the three sites.
Characteristics of the three sites
Kobo Nekemte Kakamega
Altitude 1416-1634 1748-2418 1426-1719
Major soil types Vertisol Nitisol Acrisols, Ferralsols
Mean annual rainfall (mm) 768 1037 2009
Mean annual temp (oC) 30 29 28
Total village population 330-2250 196-391 400-5000
Total village HHs 66-450 35-70 80-1200
Total village land (ha) 77-910 74-164 200-900
Total cultivated land (ha) 66-280 61-149 160-810
Major crops sorghum, teff maize, teff maize, beans
TLU 141-1004 69-213 121-673
3. Research findings and discussion
3.1. Crops and crop residues
Crop types Kobo Nekemte Kakamega cereals teff,
sorghum, maize
maize, teff, sorghum, finger millet, wheat, barley, oat
maize, finger millet, sorghum
legumes chickpeas faba beans, field peas, soya beans
common beans, climbing beans and soya beans
oil crops nd noug bambara nuts, ground nuts hort. crops vegetables
(onion)vegetables (beet root, potato, anchote)
vegetables (sweet potato), cassava, banana, tea, sugarcane
Sorghum- Kobo Teff- Nekemte Beans- Kakamega
Crop residues Kobo Nekemte Kakamega cereals teff straw,
sorghum stover, maize stover
teff straw, maize stover, barley straw, wheat straw, finger millet straw
maize stover, maize cobs, finger millet straw
legumes chickpea haulms and husks
faba bean haulms and husks
common and climbing beans
oil crops nd nd groundnut haulms, hort. crops nd nd sugarcane tops, sweet
potato vines, banana stems and leaves, vegetable stalks
Sorghum stover Teff straw Maize stover
Area coverage of crops and hh growing them in the main rainy season at the three east African sites.
Cropping systems
Land allocated (ha)
Area coverage (%)
HHs growing (%)
Kobo cereals 963 97 75 legumes 19 2 37 oil crops nd nd nd hort. crops 5 1 8 fallow np np np
Nekemte cereals 581 74 78 legumes 13 2 46 oil crops 54 7 59 hort. crops 24 3 85 fallow 107 14 71
Kakamega cereals 1238 31 53 legumes 859 22 89 oil crops nd nd nd hort. crops 1776 44 75
fallow 133 3 nd
Note: nd-there is no data, and np- there is no practice
3.2. Cropping technologies
Area (%) Kobo Nekemte Kakamega
tillage by tractor 6.43 (11.4) np 14.4 (17.7)
tillage by animal 99.5 (1.4) 100.0 (0.0) 63.8 (28.9)
new seed 2009 25.2 (36.5) 28.3 (32.0) 89.4 (4.2)
chemical fertilizer 1.8 (2.9) 72.8 (19.4) 78.8 (13.8)
manure application 9.3 (14.1) 22.3 (26.0) 54.4 (28.2)
hand weeding 100.0 (0.0) 97.9 (6.0) 97.8 (3.5)
herbicide application 34.1 (26.8) 51.1 (29.4) 2.8 (4.0)
pesticide application 25.3 (38.4) 39.5 (33.0) 4.1 (3.2)
thresher use np 4.0 (0.0) 1.0 (0.0)
chopper use for feed np np 2.3 (2.3)
Data represent means with standard deviations in parentheses. The number of villages (n) is 8 for each of the three east African sites.
3.3. Competing uses of crop residues
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Kobo Nekemte Kakamega
other uses
households fuel
stall feeding
sell from home and field
grazing by animals
left as mulch
Bars above the lines indicate increase in the last 10 years while bars below graphs indicate decreases.
3.4. Trend analysis on the use of crop residues
fuel
Bars above the lines indicate increase in the last 10 years while bars below graphs indicate decreases.
3.4. Trend analysis on the use of crop residues
3.5. Production constraints of crop residues
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Kobo Nekemte Kakamega
soil fertility decline
high inputs/low outputs price and inputs unavailability
lack of information/services
problem of weeds, pests and diseases
rainfall/drought problem
3.6. Utilization constraints of crop residues
About 60 % of the ruminant livestock in Kobo, 20 % in Nekemte and 25 % in Kakamega are dependent on CR.
The stem part of some plants is hard and highly lignified. As a result, animals prefer the finer parts and thus causing significant losses of the residues.
Lack of information and access about various CR processing methods are major bottlenecks for efficient utilization of CRs.
3.7. Implications of the present CR utilization for CA
The soil in crop fields suffers a lack of permanent cover due competing uses of CRs.
Perennial crops are less integrated into the crop fields to avoid competition for space.
29 % of CRs in Kakamega retained on the soil surface to enhance and maintain soil quality.
Nearly 100% of CRs in the Eth sites are removed from the crop fields and allocated for product functions.
Possible options to balance competing uses of CRs:
Implement integrated farming approaches – helps to save more CRs for covering the soil and improving its fertility.
Producing enough biomass- use of cropping technologies (irrigation, improved crop varieties) and intensive farming.
Introducing compatible and high value perennial crops in croplands so as to improve the year round soil cover.
Enhance the knowledge of farmers on the management and efficient use of CRs-capacity building schemes.
5. Conclusions
CRs are very useful crop by-products for smallholder farmers. Their use for animal feed surpassed the other competing uses in all the sites.
Soil/land related problems; weed, insect and pests; high input/low output prices; poor distribution of rainfall/drought; and lack of information/services are some of the constraints associated with low crop productivity and production of CRs.
Dealing with some of the crop and CRs production constraints to enhance overall crop productivity could provide more scope for the use of CRs for CA purposes.
Thank you for listening!