Informed Site-specific Fertilizer Recommendation for Upland Rice Production in Northern Guinea Savannah of Nigeria
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Date
2010-01
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Abstract
Despite the overwhelming recognition by small-holders of the important role of mineral fertilizer in rice farming, the average fertilizer use in Nigeria is far below crop requirement for sustainable production. This is because of generalized recommendations for broad areas that take no account of the complexity and diversity of farmers operating contexts. There is a need to develop ‘à la carte’ fertilizer recommendations and strengthen the farmers’ understanding of mineral fertilizer to allow them to fine-tune and pick the most suitable recommendation given their soil type and their economic circumstances. One of the projects of the Sub-Saharan Africa Challenge Programme has set out to improve fertilizer use within rice farming communities in the northern guinea savannah (NGS) zone of Nigeria by engaging farmer communities through participatory learning and action-research using nutrient-omission trials as one of the main tools. Farmers installed ‘nutrientomission plots’ in part of their fields on the major soil types of the area. The results revealed that the most limiting nutrient on most soils in the pilot villages was nitrogen, followed by phosphorus. Discussions about the results among actors led to ‘à la carte’ recommendation options tailored to meet farmers’ financial capacities and production goals. These alternative options were evaluated by farmer groups prior to their dissemination.
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Keywords
Fertilizers, Rice
Citation
Ezui, K.S., C.K. Daudu, A. Mando, M.T. Kudi,A.C. Odunze, J.O. Adeosun, I.Y. Amapu, B. Tarfa, I. Sambo, I. Bello and C. Dangbegnon. 2010. “Informed Site-Specific Fertilizer Recommendation for Upland Rice Production in Northern Guinea Savannah of Nigeria,” Paper presented at the Second Africa Rice Congress, Bamako, Mali, March 22-26, 2010