FIPS-Africa soil management techniques successfully trialled in Western Kenya
17 May 2011
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Fifteen of FIPS-Africa's village based advisors who operate with RIU support in Western Kenya have recently helped local farmers to establish mini on-farm trials to compare a number of soil management techniques that improve water infiltration and rooting depth. The results from the current growing season clearly show that methods originally developed for semi-arid areas with shallow soils can beneficially be applied in areas with higher rainfall and deeper soils.
The trials enabled farmers to compare their normal tillage method with two alternatives - deep row tillage and deep tied ridges (see below for explanations).
Initial results show that the two alternative methods performed substantially better than conventional tillage methods, with the deep tied ridges method being preferred by most farmers.
All ten farmers who were recently visited by FIPS-Africa staff in Vihiga District, Western Kenya, said they planned to use this method on more land next season, despite the additional labour required in the improved tillage. This was because farmers in Vihiga have such small plot sizes (3/4 to 1/2 acre) that it is important for them to maximise production per unit area.
Encouragingly the farmers appreciated that the improvements they had seen in their crops were due to deeper taps roots and the maize and beans having more water available.
FIPS-Africa's Dave Priest reports that the capacity of the village based advisors to establish and run multi-plot comparative trials has increased significantly since the previous planting season. In particular the concept of controlled trials, with the plots all being the same except for the treatment being trialled, had been taken on board.
FIPS-Africa's village-based advisors have also been demonstrating these methods with RIU support in the Kenyan districts of Siaya, Mbooni, Kilungu and Taita, and through support from other donors in drier areas of East Kenya in Machakos and Nzaui districts.
Notes
Deep row tillage involves deep tilling the land along planting rows using the spring jembe, which allows infiltration of rainwater to a depth. Manure is also incorporated to a deep layer which encourages the roots to grow down deeply where the water will be. In this method the farmer only has to till along the planting row, and not between the rows. In addition to the advantages of deep tillage, this shares some of the benefits of conventional reduced tillage in that soil structure between planting rows is maintained and water evaporation from the soil is reduced. Most importantly, it requires less labour for the farmer, which makes it more likely the farmer will adopt. Another important point is the use of the spring jembe: this is longer and narrower than a conventional jembe and is made from a suspension spring of a car. It allows the farmer to till to twice the normal depth with less effort (albeit over a narrower area).
Tied ridges above deep row tillage involves the farmer preparing deep rows as above and then scraping the top soil from between the rows into ridges above the deep row. The soil in between the ridges is broken with a jembe to allow infiltration of rainwater. The ridges are placed across the slope of a hill, to control erosion, and ties/ barriers are made every two metres along the furrow to prevent water passing through at speed. This gives the water more time to be captured and to sink into the soil.
17 May 2011
Tweet
Fifteen of FIPS-Africa's village based advisors who operate with RIU support in Western Kenya have recently helped local farmers to establish mini on-farm trials to compare a number of soil management techniques that improve water infiltration and rooting depth. The results from the current growing season clearly show that methods originally developed for semi-arid areas with shallow soils can beneficially be applied in areas with higher rainfall and deeper soils.
The trials enabled farmers to compare their normal tillage method with two alternatives - deep row tillage and deep tied ridges (see below for explanations).
| Deep row tillage | Tied ridges on top of deep row tillage |
 |
 |
| Conventional tillage | Spring jembe |
 |
 |
Initial results show that the two alternative methods performed substantially better than conventional tillage methods, with the deep tied ridges method being preferred by most farmers.
All ten farmers who were recently visited by FIPS-Africa staff in Vihiga District, Western Kenya, said they planned to use this method on more land next season, despite the additional labour required in the improved tillage. This was because farmers in Vihiga have such small plot sizes (3/4 to 1/2 acre) that it is important for them to maximise production per unit area.
Encouragingly the farmers appreciated that the improvements they had seen in their crops were due to deeper taps roots and the maize and beans having more water available.
FIPS-Africa's Dave Priest reports that the capacity of the village based advisors to establish and run multi-plot comparative trials has increased significantly since the previous planting season. In particular the concept of controlled trials, with the plots all being the same except for the treatment being trialled, had been taken on board.
FIPS-Africa's village-based advisors have also been demonstrating these methods with RIU support in the Kenyan districts of Siaya, Mbooni, Kilungu and Taita, and through support from other donors in drier areas of East Kenya in Machakos and Nzaui districts.
Notes
Deep row tillage involves deep tilling the land along planting rows using the spring jembe, which allows infiltration of rainwater to a depth. Manure is also incorporated to a deep layer which encourages the roots to grow down deeply where the water will be. In this method the farmer only has to till along the planting row, and not between the rows. In addition to the advantages of deep tillage, this shares some of the benefits of conventional reduced tillage in that soil structure between planting rows is maintained and water evaporation from the soil is reduced. Most importantly, it requires less labour for the farmer, which makes it more likely the farmer will adopt. Another important point is the use of the spring jembe: this is longer and narrower than a conventional jembe and is made from a suspension spring of a car. It allows the farmer to till to twice the normal depth with less effort (albeit over a narrower area).
Tied ridges above deep row tillage involves the farmer preparing deep rows as above and then scraping the top soil from between the rows into ridges above the deep row. The soil in between the ridges is broken with a jembe to allow infiltration of rainwater. The ridges are placed across the slope of a hill, to control erosion, and ties/ barriers are made every two metres along the furrow to prevent water passing through at speed. This gives the water more time to be captured and to sink into the soil.
| Benson Maniaji from FIPS-Africa explains the work of FIPS to a group of UK members of parliament. September 2010 (2:25) |  |
Related information
- Soil Management visit Vihiga Western
May 2011
