Farmers cut waste by applying fertiliser through drips

By BOB KOIGI

At a time when the price of fertiliser has hit unprecedented highs, innovative farmers are applying water-soluble fertilisers through a drip irrigation system.

 The method reduces fertiliser purchase up to 40 per cent  and encourages full utilisation of nutrients by the plants.

This process known as fertigation involves dissolving fertilisers like DAP (Diammonium phosphate) and CAN, the most commonly used fertilisers in Kenya, in water and soaking them for three hours before fertilising the crops.  This, according to the farmers using it, allows for close control over the type and amount of nutrients delivered to the plant.  The move allows farmers to apply nutrients at the precise time and rate they are needed.

This leads to increased nutrient absorption by plants, which improves the quality and productivity of crops. “It has also greatly assisted us save money and scarce water resources by reducing runoff and the amount of fertiliser and chemicals needed,” said Vincent Wamae a horticultural farmer in Limuru who has been using fertigation for the last five years.

“In addition, fertigation is less labour intensive than other forms of fertiliser delivery.”  According to Rispa Waitherero, an extension officer working with the farmers in Limuru, three drips of fertiliser infused water is enough for plant growth.

Crop nutrients

 Traditionally, farmers use a handful of fertiliser to sprinkle two to three crops. “That handful for just three crops is so much waste, and is feeding the crop with more nutrients than it requires. The handful can be used for up to ten more crops,” said Waitherero.

Farmers like Wamae who have traditionally used over five fertiliser bags on an acre now say they use three at most “and the results are just the same, if anything they are better because the plants get the nutrients in doses,” he said. However, Waitherero cautions against over diluting of the fertiliser.

“You need to know the ratio of fertiliser to water, otherwise you may over dilute the item, making it lose potency. For fertigation to work effectively for example 10 kilos of fertilisers should be mixed with 20 litres of water,” she added.

It’s a novel idea that hundreds of Limuru farmers have perfected with impressive results, which extension officers hope to spread across the country at a time when farmers uneconomically apply fertiliser even as it remains prohibitively expensive and erratic in supply. The price of 50 kilos of DAP fertiliser stands at Sh4,500 up from Sh2,500 a year ago.

The Government subsidisation of the commodity has also run into a snag with suppliers taking advantage of the low price to restock and sell exorbitantly. “Fertiliser which is a necessity for every farmer has now become a luxury, and this is having a severe impact on the food security situation in the country,” said Waitherero.                                                               

—FarmBizAfrica