Thesis subject
Manure management practices and perceptions on manure use in tethered and zero-grazing systems in Masaka Uganda - Daniel Kizza
Poor soil fertility in smallholder farming systems in sub-Saharan Africa is recognised as a major factor responsible for low capita food production and escalating food insecurity. Understanding manure management practices and farmer perceptions on manure use in smallholder farming systems is important to obtain high quality and quantity manure for crop production.
This thesis aimed at contributing to understanding manure management practices and perceptions on manure use in zero-grazing and tethered systems in a Coffee Banana farming system in Masaka district, Uganda. A combination of methodologies (literature research, key informant interviews and farmer interviews) was used to study manure management practices and farmer perceptions on manure use. There were significant relationships between medium term manure management, manure storage, the importance of covering manure and if it was important to cover manure across the grazing systems. About 25-30% of the farmers in zero-grazing systems (zero-grazing with and without the use of concentrates) used their manure in composting compared to none (0%) in tethered system. Only 13-20% of the farmers in zero-grazing systems stored their manure under a shed and no farmer in tethered system kept manure in a shed. Most farmers in the three grazing systems (55%-75%) stored their manure between 3-6 months before applying it to the crops. Under zero-grazing more manure is collected and applied to a number of crops compared to tethered system. In general, famers’ opinions did not show significant relationship between zero-grazing and tethered systems. There was no relationship between number of cattle and farm size. Surprisingly, all famers keeping animals under tethered system did not report any increment in banana production. There were 25% of farms feeding no concentrates in zero-grazing system which had 6-10 bunch increase compared to 21% farms feeding concentrates in zero grazing system which had the same increment. Declining soil fertility is not static and there are temporal and spatial variations. It is a compounded problem with no one particular solution. It requires a multi dimensional approach like integrated use of organic and inorganic fertilizers, promotion of off-farm employment, and population growth control.
Student Daniel Kizza
Supervisors Dr. Ir. H. Udo, Ing. F. Steenstra
Ects 36