An overview of the SALM practices

KACP fosters six main SALM practices in Western Kenya namely: i) soil nutrient management ii) agronomic cropping practices iii) tillage and residue management iv) soil and water management v) integrated pest management and vi) integrated livestock management. Below are brief descriptions of what each of the agricultural technologies entail in practice.

1. Soil nutrient management- This refers to practices that conserve soil moisture and improve soil fertility e.g. mulching soil surfaces using crop residues, improved fallow, fertilizer use efficiency (manure management) and composting. These practices are important because most KACP regions experience unreliable rainfall amounts and soil infertility; hence there is need to

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conserve moisture and increase SOC (humus). Fertilizer management through reduced use of inorganic fertilizers and intensified compost use cuts costs of on-farm production, while maintaining high yield levels.

Figure 6: Crop residues from maize and beans and animal waste. By: Author, 2014.

2. Agronomic practices- This involves a range of sustainable agricultural practices that largely improve soil fertility (nutrient exchange), increase crop production and consequently enhance environmental sustainability. Good examples of agronomic practices include: i) Use of cover crops- ViA encouraged planting of cover crops and even provided some farmer groups with a variety of cover crops seeds e.g. pigeon peas (njahe); ii) Intercropping- Integration of more than one type of crop in a parcel of land improves production, enhances nutrient exchange and expands households’ nutritional uptake; iii) Contour farming/strip cropping- Controls soil erosion and maximizes run-off water on sloppy farm lands; iv) Crop rotation- Planting of different crops on sub-divisions of cropland in an alternating version seasonally; e.g. use of field IDs, introduced by KACP, helps farmers partition their farms in ridges hence eventually benefits cropland from nutrient exchange as well as pest control; v) Improved crop varieties- Use of improved seeds e.g. KACPs ‘germ-plasm’ maize seeds from a multinational company called Syngenta; these seeds are reportedly short-season, early maturing, drought and pest resistant that do well in moderately moist soils; vi) Agroforestry- Integration of trees and crops on the same farm unit. Farmers reported extensive use of woody perennials such as Grevalia robusta,

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Markhamia lutea, Calliandra, Cordia africana, Sesbania sesban and others; which are economically and environmentally beneficial for many as a source of timber, firewood and fodder crop (fodder banks) for livestock.

Figure 7: Woody perennials (Grevalia robusta) and napier grass for fodder on farm ridges. By: Author, 2014.

Figure 8: Farmers in Bumula division, Ng’oli village, discussing use of cover crops. By: Author, 2014.

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3. Tillage and residue management- This refers to conservation tillage or minimum tillage (ploughing only when necessary e.g. during planting only) and leaving weeded or post-harvest plant residues on the soil surface to reduce soil disturbance to a bare minimum. A good example of residue management that farmers in the KACP area have extensively embraced in is called

‘trashlines’- the strategic heaping of post-harvest maize stalks and beans residues along contours or between the next season crop lines instead of burning them as traditionally done in the past.

Plant residues managed as trashlines mainly assist in curbing soil erosion and partly assist in composting to enhance SOC for improved soil fertility through nutrient exchange intensification, hence boosting agricultural productivity.

Figure 9: Trashlines of maize stalks residue in Bumula. By: Author, 2014.

4. Soil and water management; comprise of practices that prevent and reduce amount of soil lost through erosion as well as related water use efficiency by minimizing losses of water from evaporation and run-off. Farmers in the KACP area reported that they dig ‘diversion ditches’ and erect terraces on farm slopes to reduce erosion from run-off e.g. when asked how they manage soil and water, one farmer from Bumula during the FGD said, “tulichimba mitaro za maji” (we dug water spillway trenches). Others reported the use of planting basins and pits (planting crops such as bananas in dug out pits to capture run-off and improve longer soil water infiltration).

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Figure 10: Planting basins or pits containing banana seedlings in Malakisi. By: Author, 2014.

5. Integrated pest management- This refers to the use of natural and cultural control of pests to prevent and suppress pests as well as minimize the use of commercial pesticides. For example, farmers in the study area reported that KACP distributed ‘desmodium’ seeds to farmer groups and rigorously promoted the use of ‘desmodium species’ to stifle invasive weeds such as the

‘striker weed’ which had over the recent past extensively chocked food crops especially maize.

Integrated pest control reportedly increased farm productivity by reducing crop damage, promoting healthier crops and increasing cost-effectiveness.

6. Integrated livestock management- This involves the promotion of mixed farming where apart from crop farming, farmers are encouraged by KACP to also invest in sustainable livestock keeping. This means herd management by rearing of a few animals proportionate to farm size (to discourage overstocking) and using improved livestock feeding practices. It also emphasizes long-term livestock health monitoring, sustainable breeding and manure collection.

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Figure 11: Improved livestock pens and feeding for cattle zero grazing in Bumula and Sirisia divisions By: Author, 2014.

4.2.2 SALMs Adoption Levels and Patterns