Researchers help Zimbabwe farmers use fertilizer more wisely
Farmers all over the world know how important fertilizers and similar chemical compounds are to the success of their businesses. These nutrients maintain the health of their soil through years of planting, therefore maximizing the production needed to meet consumer demand.
The use of fertilizer is especially pivotal in countries such as Zimbabwe, where the potentially limited amount of rainfall can significantly impact small-scale farmers who cannot afford to irrigate their crops. Furthermore, access to other resources may also be a problem for these small businesses in Zimbabwe, making prudent use of fertilizer especially crucial to their viability.
At the University of Illinois, researchers have been working with the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics to help Zimbabwe farmers develop better strategies for fertilizer application. The work also includes outreach efforts to educate farmers about different techniques, such as microdosing.
What is microdosing?
In many farms in industrialized nations, particularly large-scale farms, fertilizer is often applied to entire fields. Microdosing is different because it applies a small amount of fertilizer with the seed at planting, or only as a top dressing three to four weeks after plantings sprout, according to U of I agricultural economist Alex Winter-Nelson. This was shown to be an economic and effective strategy for small-scale farms in climates to produce little rainfall.
Not all farmers in operations of this size understand how to use microdosing, which underscores the importance of comprehensive educational outreach.
"About 75 percent of households receiving microdosing training used fertilizer in 2011," Winter-Nelson said in a statement. "This compares to less than 25 percent of households that had not received training. Another way of looking at it is that training in microdosing raised the probability of adoption by 30 to 35 percentage points. Knowledge of microdosing changed people's attitudes about fertilizer. Those who had training generally disagreed with the common notion that fertilizer is not worth its price or that it burns crops."
Based on data collected from farms in eight semi-arid districts, a 30 percent adoption rate of microdosing resulted in a 40 percent internal return on investment, which includes costs associated with research, development and promotion. However, some obstacles to adoption remain.
"Female-headed households were significantly less likely to adopt microdosing than others, possibly reflecting labour shortages or difficulties accessing fertilizer," Winter-Nelson said. "Understanding the particular constraints that female farmers face and adapting the methods or the training to their circumstances could also help extend adoption of the technique."
Additionally, it is essential that private vendors are readily stocked with fertilizer and can package it in a manner that is user friendly for small-scale farmers.
What is the extent of Zimbabwe's farming needs?
According to the United Nations, Zimbabwe needs to produce 1.8 million tons of maize and other staple crops to meet the food needs of its population. However, the last time the country was able to achieve this was 2001. The organization estimated that, between October 2013 and early 2014, 2.2 million people in the country needed food assistance.
The shift in food production capacity had been largely blamed on changes in land ownership in 2000, when a significant proportion of large-scale, commercially-run farmland was transferred to small-scale farmers. Initially, critics of the land ownership policy decried the lack of skill among small-scale farmers, but more in-depth analysis revealed that smaller operations lacked the irrigation abilities of larger farms.
Organizations such as ICRISAT are working with the agriculture sectors of nations such as Zimbabwe to grow staple crops that are more robust and sustainable in semi-arid climates. These crops include chickpeas, pigeon peas, sorghum and millets. Microdosing of fertilizer and similar chemical compounds may further maximize food production when used properly.
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Susan Massie, Sales & Marketing Director, Greyhound Chromatography and Allied Chemicals Email: sue@greyhoundchrom.com
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