Browsing by Author "Elizabeth Ouna, Jesse T. Njooka, Shellemiah O. Keya, Raphael K. Wanjogu"

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    Converting Agro-Waste into Biochar: Improving Soil Fertility and Productivity in ASAL Ecosystems
    (Office of DVC Research, Innovation and Enterprise,, 2020-01) Elizabeth Ouna, Jesse T. Njooka, Shellemiah O. Keya, Raphael K. Wanjogu
    The prevalent constrain of food insecurity in the arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) continue to worsen due to deteriorating soil health and increasing rate of population growth (Bai and Dent, 2006). The economic contribution of the ASAL’s agricultural sector has continued to fall from 30 per cent to 20 per cent of the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) primarily due to soil degradation. In Mwea, this is due to intensive and continuous cereal mono-cropping with minimal organic inputs; while in Bura, it is as a result of salinization (Muchena, 2008, GoK, 2009, 2012). Also, the feed value chain supports only 0.28 per cent of the GDP and its production continues to decline due to the slow growth rate of the feed production industry estimated at 300 thousand metric tonnes (MT) in 2003 growing to only 570 thousand MT in 2018, low germplasm of drought-tolerant crops, and limited crop farming due to extended drought under erratic low rainfall. This has resulted in reduced livestock population head in the ASALs from 75 per cent to 60 per cent of national livestock between 2009 and 2019. Following the Maputo Declaration 2006, Malabo Declaration 2014 and the publishing of Kenya's Vision 2030, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, Kenya is expected to achieve an agricultural growth rate of 6 per cent per annum through an increase in the utilization of land, water resources, and in the rate of fertilizer application from 8 kilogrammes per hectare (Kg/Ha) to 50 Kg/Ha, including use of organic fertilizers. Negative environmental impacts associated with chemical fertilizers, however, remain a problem due to groundwater pollution by nitrate fertilizers and low germplasm of drought-tolerant legumes. An innovative upgraded technology for production of biochar, a carbonized form of organic waste generated by recycling in limited oxygen and heat, for soil amendment to improve soil health (nutrient stock and flows) in addition to the cultivation of locally available germplasm with traits for drought tolerance, can effectively address the constraints of food production in degraded soils resulting in a substantial increase in