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Evaluation of farm-level impacts of soil fertility management strategies in maize-bean farming systems in Uganda and Tanzania

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Title Evaluation of farm-level impacts of soil fertility management strategies in maize-bean farming systems in Uganda and Tanzania
 
Creator Celine Birnholz
Mwongera, Caroline
Shikuku, Kelvin Mashisia
Mwungu, Chris Miyinzi
 
Subject soil fertility
fertilidad del suelo
climate change mitigation
profitability
rentabilidad
farming systems
 
Description We conducted an ex ante evaluation of soil fertility management strategies on soil organic matter (SOM), nitrogen balance, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and profitability under three important scenarios: (1) inorganic fertilizers, (2) organic manure, and (3) combined organic manure and inorganic fertilizers. Focus group discussions and household surveys were used to collect data in Rakai, Uganda, and Lushoto, Tanzania. We assessed impact for three farm types (small scale, medium scale, and large scale) using a bioeconomic model: FarmDESIGN. Our main findings are as follows. First, whereas in Lushoto the combined use of organic manure and inorganic fertilizers contributed the most to SOM relative to the baseline for all farm types, in Rakai the same scenario had greater impacts for only medium- and large-scale farms. For small-scale farms, improvement in SOM mostly came from the use of inorganic fertilizers. Second, in both countries, nitrogen balance increased across all scenarios and farm types. Third, the increase in SOM and nitrogen balance was accompanied by an increase in GHG emissions, especially for scenarios with manure or combining manure and inorganic fertilizers. Fourth, impacts were mixed in terms of profitability. In Lushoto, Tanzania, the smallscale farm has the lowest operating profit, while the large-scale farm has the highest. In Rakai, Uganda, gross margins from crops contributed the largest share to farm profitability.
Our findings not only suggest increased soil fertility with the adoption of improved management strategies but also highlight potential trade-offs in terms of increased emissions and reduced profitability for some farm types. Taking into account both synergies and trade-offs when promoting soil fertility management strategies might yield successful efforts.
 
Date 2018
2018-02-27T14:33:12Z
2018-02-27T14:33:12Z
 
Type Working Paper
 
Identifier Birnholz C; Mwongera C; Shikuku KM; Mwungu C. 2018. Evaluation of farm-level impacts of soil fertility management strategies in maize-bean farming systems in Uganda and Tanzania. Working Paper. CIAT Publication No. 467. International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT). Nairobi, Kenya. 22 p.
https://hdl.handle.net/10568/91204
 
Language en
 
Rights Open Access
 
Format 22 p.
application/pdf
 
Publisher International Center for Tropical Agriculture