Farmers Voice Ep23: Farmers Point Fingers at Inorganic Fertilizers for Their Dying Soil.
Subsidies for agricultural inputs can be a successful vehicle for improving national productivity. Kenya's fertilizer subsidies have brought gains in productivity, however leaning on the immediate outcome and overlooking the long-term environmental impacts it holds. The opportunity demonstrated by inorganic fertilizers is not in question because farmers who use inorganic fertilizers have had yields at 50 percent higher on average than farmers who do not, some researches indicate so.
Subsidies, from an economic standpoint, serve to reallocate resources, allowing economic activity to produce more desirable outcomes than it would otherwise. Subsidies can be an advantageous policy instrument in addressing market imperfections if competitive private markets fail to generate socially good outcomes.
What happens when the indented purpose of fertilizer is superseded by the gaps that exist in the supply chain or the contents are colluded by the key actors? The farmer’s dreams are going to jeopardize and this has a ripple effect on food security.
Truth be told, the yield motivation heightens farmers’ desire for a bumper harvest, which makes them cling to the quickest means to better yields, where ultimately, inorganic fertilizer is a choice. However, this does not work out all the seasons by referencing Fred, second name withheld.
He is a seasoned farmer, whose journey backs to two and a half decades ago, on his 10-acre farm in the village of Western Kenya could yield a rich harvest of 200 bags of maize. That has now declined to 30. He moved on to try other value chains like tomatoes but still faced other challenges like water supply, crop diseases and high labor costs. He asserts that his once fertile land has become a rapidly dying field that no longer offers him a living.
Like many other farmers, he blames acidifying fertilizers have been getting a higher market push in Kenya and other African countries in recent years. He claimed he began utilizing fertilizers to increase his produce, which worked until it didn't. That is an indication of a missing sustainability link.
Kenya's government first introduced a fertilizer subsidy in 2008, making chemical fertilizers more accessible for smaller-scale farmers.
In 2008 Kenya established the first national fertilizer subsidy program in response to the oil price shock that tripled retail fertilizer prices. The program provided all verified farmers with discounted fertilizer from the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB). Consequently, this made fertilizer more accessible for smaller-scale farmers to boost their productivity. The danger that is now manifesting is the struggle for consistency in the soul performance.
National Fertilizer Subsidy program, 2008.
Kenya’s two national fertilizer subsidy programs have cost over $310 million since 2007 with some impact on yields but have created challenges for commercial retailers which deviates from the initial goal of making it a profitable investment. Read more on the success and drawbacks...
According to the agriculture ministry, 13 percent, or about 7.5 million hectares, of Kenya’s soils are acidic, translating to 63 percent of Kenya’s arable land. Over time, this has recorded a decline in the production of staples such as maize and leading exports of horticulture and tea. The production of maize declined by 4% to 44 million tons in 2022, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization, attributed to widespread drought.
The scandal around fake fertilizer hit the headlines in the public with much of the spotlight directed to the Ministry of Agriculture but it failed to respond adequately to questions raised on this saga during the planting season in April. The fertilizer turned out to be quarry dirt in misleadingly labeled packets delivered to farmers under a national subsidy program. President William Ruto stated that around 7,000 farmers purchased the false fertilizer and will be compensated with the correct product. Such scenes are impacting the confidence in the subsidies program and demoralizing farmers.
As Africa battles to feed itself, soil health issues are becoming more prevalent. According to the African Development Bank, Africa accounts for 65% of the world's remaining uncultivated arable land but spends over $60 billion each year on food imports. Spending is expected to increase to $110 billion by 2025 as demand rises and consumption habits evolve.
In May from the 7th to 9th of May 2024, the Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health Summit convened in Nairobi, Kenya to discuss declining production, climate change and other issues that have increased food security concerns. African Heads of State and Government united in this event to bolster agricultural sustainability and enhance smallholder farmer livelihoods by endorsing the Nairobi Declaration. The Declaration constituted a significant step towards increasing access and cost of certified organic and inorganic fertilizers across the continent. Agriculture is a key part of the economy in Kenya, making up more than a quarter of the GDP.
Also read: Farmers Likely to Seize Uncertified Subsidy Fertilizers as New Planting Season Draws Near.
At the summit, Stephen Muchiri, executive director of the Eastern Africa Farmers Federation, called on for a return to traditional agricultural practices for regenerating lifeless soils, such as sowing a range of crops and causing as little disturbance as possible.
"Inorganic fertilizers were never meant to be the foundation of crop production," he said, later adding that because of "commercially inclined farming, our soils are now poor, acidic, and low in biomass resources, and without life!"
He said farmers should rotate crops on their land and source compost material from livestock such as goats: "There must be some kind of transition and adaptation for our soils to revert back to fertility."
Initially, the recommended raising the use of fertilizers from 8 kg/(nutrients)/ha to 50 kg (nutrients) /ha was meant to take effect in 10 years and the establishment of an African Fertilizer Financing Mechanism (AFFM) with the objective of improving agricultural productivity by providing financing required to boost fertilizer, but this has gone beyond reference increment range.
According to experts, soil acidity influences the degradation of land by reducing the availability of plant and critical nutrients, making soil more prone to structural deterioration and erosion.
The program coordinator for the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa, Bridget Mugambe, advised the phasing out of chemical fertilizers.
"Soil health goes beyond the quick fixes provided by chemical fertilizers. In fact, chemical fertilizers have extensively damaged our soils in Africa. We need to think of our soils in a more holistic way," she said.
In June 2006, the Heads of State and Governments of the African Union endorsed the Abuja Declaration on Fertilizer for the Africa Green Revolution, a continental strategy to reverse the worrying trend of poor productivity of the African soils.
Soil health goes beyond the quick fixes provided by chemical fertilizers. In fact, chemical fertilizers have extensively damaged our soils in Africa. We need to think of our soils in a more holistic way.
Bridget Mugambe, The program coordinator for the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa.
During the summit, AU Commissioner for Agriculture Josefa Leonel Correia Sacko asserted that the continent was "losing over $4 billion worth of soil nutrients each year." There is a need for increased investment to produce both organic fertilizers locally and triple their use for increased production. Kenya for instance is highly reliant on fertilizers that are imported owing to low domestic production and supply. The European Union is the leading supplier, followed by Saudi Arabia and Russia.
John Macharia, the Kenya manager of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, stated that Kenya's recent fertilizer issue should not discourage farmers.
"It's still imperative that we are able to work with the government to actually ensure that we have the right fertilizers coming to our stores," Macharia said. He recommended both chemical and organic ones as long as they address the specific issue in the soil and said soil analysis would guide farmers.
Declining soil quality is a food security concern across Africa.
The situation is similar in Zimbabwe, which was once a regional breadbasket and now has almost 70% acidic soils, according to the government. The government previously used chemical fertilizers in an attempt to better soils, but improper application resulted in a reduction in organic matter.
Wonder Ngezimana, a crop science associate professor at Zimbabwe's Marondera University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology maintained that before the introduction of mineral fertilizers, our forefathers had the knowledge and understanding that if you add organic manure, the soil became fertile, and crops performed better. "That has been a traditional norm in Zimbabwe and elsewhere in Africa where people scavenge for any kind of organic matter to add to the soil." He said.
He outlined organic fertilizers that can be useful to soil and its biomass, which include animal manure, grass, leaves and twigs, crop residue, ash and compost. Sadly, many farmers in Zimbabwe no longer have cattle because of recent drought episodes. "Farmers are struggling to maintain soil health because they can't generate enough quantities of organic matter," Ngezimana said.
Recommendations that farmers need to test their soil's acidity and apply lime to reverse high acidity were made but on a lever scale, established commercial farmers are capable of facilitating this process. When we asked small-scale farmers whom we work with in our programs, they said both are limited and costly. Soil testing services are available in government agricultural agencies, public universities and private organizations at prices ranging from $20 to $40. Institutions are sometimes located far away from the farmers.
Fred, the farmer, stated that he could not even afford to buy enough animals for manure, let alone seeds. This means he has come to terms that regenerative agriculture is the way to go but the challenge is that he is contemplating how to do it for his 10-acre land.
"I cannot afford more expenses," he said.
This is an investment wake-up call in regenerative agriculture and strengthening nutrition-sensitive farming that informs the farmers on the positive impact of good agricultural practices.
For more information, contact info@fspnafrica.org