Agriculture in Kenya - Organic Growing

Organic Growing

An 8-year comparative study, the Sustainable Agriculture Farming Systems project, compared conventional farming systems with differing practices of crop rotation and soil substance. The results showed that organic methods had yields in the same range as conventional systems for all crops that were studied, and for some crop studies, the yield level was higher for organics than conventional systems. The organic systems were noted for “increases in the organic carbon content of the soil and larger pools of stored nutrients, each of which is critical for long-term fertility maintenance."

Sweet potato is typically grown organically in Africa. To decrease labor for weeding, farmers interviewed by Macharia (2004) expressed preference for planting on mounds after trying ridges. Farmers found mound methods yielded larger tubers, and easier to use without new fertilizers or chemicals. Organic farming includes crop rotation, and mulches to control pests and soil fertility.

Organic farming by the Rothamsted and Rodale experiments have shown that “manure-based systems can provide enough nitrogen not only to sustain high crop yields but also to build up the nitrogen storage in the soil". According, to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Kenya had no percentage of certified organic cropland in 2003, yet farmers use organic methods. .