Ways Forward? Technical Choices, Intervention Strategies and Policy Options 387out, and strengthening of organizational links to help spread ideas and discussion
amongst farmers. At the same time, an assessment of organizational setting is needed
to identify the current strengths and capacity of different channels through which
a combination of interventions might be supported. This will depend on existing
structures within the existing governmental, NGO and private sectors, the skills
and resources available, and the flexibility and openness of different structures to
working with farmers in a more intensive and collegiate manner.
As already discussed, the tailoring of soil-fertility interventions to the diversity
and dynamics of particular contexts will need to go beyond a purely technical
focus, to embrace a much wider set of options (see Boxes 19.1 and 19.2). The skills
needed by research, extension and development agents to take forward the approach
outlined above will need to include:
- Economic and social analysis to understand the diverse constraints faced by
farmers and the historical dimension to the farming system’s development, in
order to set the particular issue of soil-fertility management within the broader
context of farming livelihoods.
Zimbabwe
In Zimbabwe, the increasingly uneconomic option of applying inorganic fertilizer at
recommended rates has resulted in declining use, even in higher-potential areas
where agronomic responses are relatively good. This has potentially negative
impacts on the viability of agriculture in these areas, with consequences for eco-
nomic growth and food security. Farmers’ own experiments with combinations of
organic and inorganic amendments have not received much attention from research
and are not recognized in standard extension support. A range of options for improv-
ing the situation suggest themselves.- A revision of fertilizer recommendations to take greater account of local agro-
ecological setting and socioeconomic circumstance, with a set of graded
options with different mixes offered by local traders. - Support for new fertilizer traders and suppliers to encourage a growth in the
market. A variety of public–private partnerships could be explored which might
help reduce trading margins, particularly in more remote areas, and so reduce
farm-gate costs. - Different bagging options and more variety in fertilizer mixes, with advice offered
by retailers, would allow greater customer choice, and perhaps greater demand,
particularly from those requiring relatively small amounts for specific uses. - More emphasis in research and extension on improving fertilizer-use efficiency
through different placement and timing options. Combined with innovative ways
of combining inorganic with organic sources, limited supplies of fertility inputs
could be made to go further, thus increasing productivity.