Organic Soil Fertility Maintenance Program Offered at Kenya Institute of Organic Farming

The maintenance of soil fertility is a key component of organic farming and can be broadly defined as the ability of the soil to support the productivity of the system.

This Organic Soil Fertility Maintenance programme will teach you the skills required for the protection and, if possible, improvement of soil physical condition so that the soil supports healthy plants and soil-dwelling organisms.

The central concept of soil fertility in organic systems is the use of legume-based multi-annual rotations together with the judicious use of on-farm manures.

Ideally, organic soil fertility maintenance systems are designed to enhance soil fertility and protection. Some of the goals that this organic soil fertility maintenance course hopes to achieve include:

• the protection and, if possible, improvement of soil physical condition so that the soil supports healthy plants and soil dwelling organisms and has the ability to resist and recover from stresses like flooding or aggressive tillage;
  
• the maintenance of soil buffering capacity to minimize environmental degradation caused by soil loss or soils failure to filter nutrients or degrade harmful compounds; and
• increased water and nutrient use efficiency by increasing biological fixation and retention of needed nutrients while reducing their loss from the system to the extent possible.

KCSE D+ and above

The Kenya Institute of Organic Farming (KIOF) is a non-governmental organization operating throughout Kenya and the Eastern Africa region.

It is not operated for profit or other commercial purposes but exists solely for the benefit of the public at large by promoting rural development and education in organic agriculture and related ... read more