TY - JOUR
T1 - Grain Productivity, Fertilizer Response and Nutrient Balance of Farming Systems in Tigray, Ethiopia
T2 - A Multi-Perspective View in Relation to Soil Fertility Degradation
AU - Kraaijvanger, Richard
AU - Veldkamp, Tom
PY - 2015
Y1 - 2015
N2 - Application of nutrients is an important way to increase crop productivity. In our study area, Tigray, development agents recommend fertilizer application to boost productivity and counteract nutrient depletion. We analysed soil fertility from different perspectives, using responses and nutrient balances on the basis of on-farm experimentation. Three perspectives, embedded in the People-Planet-Profit framework and with different temporal and spatial scales and ownership, were considered. Taking a farmer perspective, we found no significant differences in response between recommended and current farmer practices. Taking an agronomist perspective, phosphorus seemed to limit productivity. It however also became obvious that closing nutrient balances at field scale to achieve sustainability is difficult. Only by using considerable amounts of manure and at the cost of productivity this can be achieved. From a long-term environmentalist perspective, the traditional agricultural system seems sustainable in combining mixed farming and relatively low yields. We conclude that depending on the perspective taken, different interventions will be appropriate. All perspectives however indicate that gradually strengthening the existing mixed farming system by using fertilizers, organic manure and legume fallows supports crop productivity while maintaining other aspects of sustainability such as food security and profitability. In line with this, our analysis of different perspectives suggests that in our study area, farmers will only consider transitions with low risk and this specifically should be addressed in proposing pathways of transition. In processes where stakeholders with different perspectives cooperate, it is important to be aware and make use of the possibilities of comparable multi-perspective analyses.
AB - Application of nutrients is an important way to increase crop productivity. In our study area, Tigray, development agents recommend fertilizer application to boost productivity and counteract nutrient depletion. We analysed soil fertility from different perspectives, using responses and nutrient balances on the basis of on-farm experimentation. Three perspectives, embedded in the People-Planet-Profit framework and with different temporal and spatial scales and ownership, were considered. Taking a farmer perspective, we found no significant differences in response between recommended and current farmer practices. Taking an agronomist perspective, phosphorus seemed to limit productivity. It however also became obvious that closing nutrient balances at field scale to achieve sustainability is difficult. Only by using considerable amounts of manure and at the cost of productivity this can be achieved. From a long-term environmentalist perspective, the traditional agricultural system seems sustainable in combining mixed farming and relatively low yields. We conclude that depending on the perspective taken, different interventions will be appropriate. All perspectives however indicate that gradually strengthening the existing mixed farming system by using fertilizers, organic manure and legume fallows supports crop productivity while maintaining other aspects of sustainability such as food security and profitability. In line with this, our analysis of different perspectives suggests that in our study area, farmers will only consider transitions with low risk and this specifically should be addressed in proposing pathways of transition. In processes where stakeholders with different perspectives cooperate, it is important to be aware and make use of the possibilities of comparable multi-perspective analyses.
KW - Fertilizer recommendations
KW - On-farm experimentation
KW - Pathways of transition
KW - People-Planet-Profit
KW - Sustainability
U2 - 10.1002/ldr.2330
DO - 10.1002/ldr.2330
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84944585585
SN - 1085-3278
VL - 26
SP - 701
EP - 710
JO - Land Degradation and Development
JF - Land Degradation and Development
IS - 7
ER -