article · Agriculture
Agropastoralist knowledge and practices in Borana, southern Ethiopia, reveal significant barriers to using livestock manure despite its value for semi-arid land productivity. Large quantities of manure have accumulated on local farms over the years, averaging over 74 tons per household. This volume contains approximately 667 kg of nitrogen, which represents more than five times the current requirements of the farms and carries an estimated economic value of 16,452 Ethiopian Birr (802 US dollars). While on-farm trials demonstrated that applying manure offers substantial potential to increase agricultural yields on these marginal lands, centuries-old traditional beliefs and associated practices keep this resource entirely unutilised. Addressing these traditional beliefs forms the basis of proposed intervention areas to help unlock the resource.
In semi-arid marginal lands, low soil fertility limits agricultural production. While livestock produces abundant natural fertiliser that can boost crop yields and replace costly inputs, deeply rooted cultural beliefs can prevent communities from using it. Recognising the socio-cultural factors that stop farmers from adopting beneficial practices is vital for designing rural development programmes that work in harmony with local contexts.
The findings point to an applied opportunity for agricultural extension programmes, development agencies, and agritech or fertiliser initiatives working with agropastoralists. The economic value of unutilised nitrogen suggests strong potential for low-cost organic soil enrichment. However, commercial uptake remains at an early developmental stage because successful deployment requires community intervention strategies to overcome longstanding traditional beliefs before manure management products or practices can be adopted.
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Manure is often considered a valuable resource for improving productivity in semi-arid tropics. This paper investigated agropastoralist knowledge of the use of manure and barriers that limit manure use in Borana, southern Ethiopia. The potential and actual amounts of manure available on-farm and its relative economic value were estimated. Yield response to manure application was also quantified. Data was gathered using on-farm surveys, focus group discussions, key informant interviews, field observation and on-farm experiments. We found that an enormous amount of manure with substantial fertilizer value and economic benefit had accumulated over the years in studied households in Borana. Our analysis revealed that, on average, more than 74 tons of manure containing 667 kg nitrogen (N)–more than five times the current requirements–had accumulated per farm. This manure has an economic value, in terms of N supply, equivalent to ETB (Ethiopian Birr) 16452 (US$802). On-farm trials showed that a considerable scope exists for increasing the yields of these marginal lands by using manure. However, because of the traditional beliefs and associated practices, which have prevailed for centuries in the community, this valuable resource is left unused. Having identified the link between traditional beliefs and non-use of manure, the paper sets out possible areas for intervention.
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DOI: 10.3390/agriculture9030045
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