Thousands of farmers benefit from free soil testing drive
A truck that holds equipment used to test soil. Agriculture experts have raised a red flag that soils in food production areas have depleted nutrients because of continuous use of the same fertiliser, which causes imbalance in soil productivity.
What you need to know:
- Agriculture experts have raised a red flag that soils in food production areas have depleted nutrients because of continuous use of the same fertiliser, which causes imbalance in soil productivity.
- This affects crop production as plants have stunted growth and harvest cannot be sufficient to feed the country.
About 100,000 farmers spread across nine counties in Nyanza and Western are taking part in an ongoing free rapid soil testing campaign to enable them to take remedial measures to boost food production.
The exercise, which is being spearheaded by the Kenya Crops and Dairy Market Systems (KCDMS), targets to equip farmers from Kisumu, Homa Bay, Siaya, Migori, Kisii, Nyamira, Kakamega, Vihiga and Busia with the right information on soil nutrition so they can make informed decisions regarding fertilisation and crop selection.
This comes at a time when agriculture experts have raised a red flag that soils in food production areas have depleted nutrients because of continuous use of the same fertiliser, which causes imbalance in soil productivity.
This affects crop production as plants have stunted growth and harvest cannot be sufficient to feed the country.
KCDMS Deputy Chief of Party Judy Odongo said a report released in 2014 showed that most soil in agricultural areas has a pH level of less than five.
"It means that soil types in most regions have high levels of acid. Most crops require a pH of between 5.5 and 7.5 for best growth," she said.
KCDMS Technical Director Seth Yake said the campaign targets to sensitise farmers on the importance of soil testing to understand what is required to get optimum yields.
He said although the uptake of fertilisers in the region is commendable, farmers lack the information on the right type of fertilisers for their soils to maximise yields.
“We have seen from the tests that have been done in this region that the soils are very acidic. This means that to increase productivity, farmers must make deliberate steps to amend this by improving the pH to the required level,” he said.
KCDMS has now identified experts who will help farmers know the acidity or alkalinity of their farms before they start planting in the next season.
Soil test can be done using a rapid test kit that gives results in a few minutes.
A test can also be comprehensive and take at least two hours.
A mobile laboratory will be set up in different places where farmers will take soil from their farms for testing.
Mr Yake said the exercise, which runs up to September 14, will help the farmers to understand the limitations of their soil and make efforts to bridge the gaps.
He noted that KCDMS, which is a USAid-funded Feed the Future Initiative, is working closely with county governments and agro-dealers to ensure that as many farmers as possible access soil testing services so as to boost food production in the regions.
He challenged the private sector to take up soil testing and reach more farmers as well as create job opportunities for the youth.
The culmination of the campaign, he said, will involve setting up soil testing clinics in all the seven counties.
Manned by qualified technicians and agronomists, the clinics will provide farmers with immediate, personalised soil reports and recommendations.
In Kisumu, the campaign targets to test at least 200 samples per ward and issue comprehensive results to farmers.
Kisumu Agriculture Chief Officer Erick Omondi said the campaign is expected to traverse the 35 wards in the devolved unit sensitising and training farmers on soil testing and management.
The exercise, he said, will go a long way in empowering farmers on the right steps to take through application of the required fertiliser to improve their soil and boost production.
“Farmers apply fertiliser without knowing the state of their soil in terms of nutrient availability. This exercise would create a knowledge base for our farmers on what their soil lacks and what is required to correct the anomaly,” he said.
Nehemiah Odongo, an agro-dealer who is a partner in the campaign, said 3,000 samples taken from the region so far indicate that the soil pH level ranged between 5.5-5.7 per cent, which is too acidic.
He urged farmers to take advantage of the free testing exercise to understand their soils better.
