Informations et ressources scientifiques
sur le développement des zones arides et semi-arides

Titre : Analysis of soil quality, farmers’ knowledge and management practices in mount Kenya East Region.

Auteur : Wawire, Amos Wanjala

Université de soutenance : Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences (formerly Szent Istvan University)

Grade : Doctor of Philosophy 2021

Sommaire partiel
Soil is the primary ingredient of agricultural production, yet cases of declining soil fertility have been spiralling and thus a major concern among policy makers globally. The goal of this study was to assess soil resources, farmers’ knowledge and management practices and their possible influence on soil quality, in Kenya, using Mount Kenya East region as a case study. To achieve this aim, four objectives were pursued. The first objective was to characterize soils of the study sites. Secondly, soil fertility management strategies used by farmers were identified and determinants of adoption determined. The third objective examined farmer’s knowledge of soil fertility and compared the local fertility assessment with scientific estimations. The final objective evaluated the influence of farm household’s socio-economic and farm management characteristics on soil quality. To chieve these objectives, both natural and social science approaches were used. The study was conducted in Mount Kenya East, encompassing 2 counties, namely Meru and Tharaka Nithi, located on the eastern slopes of Mount Kenya, approximately 200 km from Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. Agriculture is the primary economic activity in the region, with farming dominated mostly by smallholder farmers. Agriculture is mainly rain-fed and characterized with diverse agricultural production. The region is a traditionally high agricultural productivity zone attributed to favourable climatic conditions and fertile soils. However, emerging decline in soil fertility poses a major threat to the community’s livelihood, thus the importance for this study. Comprehensive knowledge of soils and soil properties is essential in realizing sustainable land use. The data used in this study was obtained through farm household survey (questionnaire and interview) and soil sampling conducted between January-March 2019. Conditioned Latin Hypercube sampling (cLHS) was used to determine sampling sites. About 150 farms were initially identified for sampling. However, soil samples were collected from 69 farms. At each household farm, soils were sampled from one field at three depths : 0-20 cm, 20-50 cm and 50- 100 cm. One hundred and six farm households (including those from which soil was sampled) were surveyed for the questionnaire. Semi-structured interviews for farmers and extension officers were used to supplement data obtained through the questionnaire.

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