Participatory research on compost and liquid manure in Kenya

Soil fertility is declining in Kenya's low potential areas, and more appropriate soil fertility management technologies are needed, which fit into farmers' socio-economic circumstances. This issue of the series Managing Africa's Soils, presents a comparative analysis between two on-farm experiments in Kenya for improving soil fertility by applying compost and liquid manure in maize, using a Participatory Technology Development (PDT) approach. One group of farmers used a participatory and low external input approach. The other group was formed by conventional farmers applying fertilisers. The paper gives detailed account of the site selection and research methodology, and the results of the study are presented according to grain yield and economic performance; labour; nutrient budgets; and farmers' evaluation. The analysis data collected by researchers correlates well with the farmers' evaluation, verifying that the combined treatment of compost and liquid manure gave the most successful result. The study shows that with a PDT approach, farmers and researchers can come to an agreement on technologies to be tested, treatments and research design.