Organic farmers carry out mulching in the garden using dry grass. PHOTOS/MICHAEL J SSALI
Farming is a combination of several field activities geared towards high yields. They include operations like seedbed preparation, in which the farmer makes the land ready for planting seeds. Some farmers use heavy machines such as tractors. Many of them use farm animals such as bulls, cows, and bullocks,(ox-cultivation) while others use simple tools such as hand hoes to remove the bushes from the space where they want to carry out farming.
Herbicides are also often used to kill undesired plants in areas where crop production is to be carried out. Farmers are constantly fighting against weeds, pests, parasites, and diseases.
Plant nutrients
They must also protect the soil which is the medium in which plants are anchored, where they grow, and obtain nutrition. If the soil lacks plant nutrients, it is upon the farmer to somehow provide them for the sake of successful crop production.
The discussion now is: should they rely on purely organic practices in this fight or should they turn to chemicals? Where is the role of science and technical innovation in farming?
John Ssentongo, an organic farmer, also the head of a local organization known as “Go Green” based in Lukindu Village, Kisekka Sub-county, Lwengo District, says: “It is possible to grow crops without using manufactured chemicals. They are manufactured to kill pests and they can be dangerous to human
and livestock health if applied on food crops.”
The elderly farmer, who is also a member of Slow Food, an international anti-hunger organisation that works towards good, clean, and fair food for everyone, advocates the use of organic manure and pest cultural control methods instead of synthetic fertilisers and manufactured pesticides.
He is concerned about the loss of biodiversity occasioned by mindless use of agricultural chemicals by farmers.
He thinks pesticides, herbicides, and synthetic fertilisers also kill useful insects like bees and butterflies, as well as unseen microorganisms under the soil surface which are useful in plant growth.
Former Finance Minister Gerald Ssendaula, who owns hundreds of goats, sheep, pigs, cows, and close to 40,000 hens, has easy access to livestock manure, which he applies in his different plantations of coffee, bananas, maize, tomatoes, and vegetables, among other crops.
He, however, says: “Farmers should always consult trained agriculturalists about the condition of the soil in their gardens, and they should constantly seek advice on how to deal with pests.
Some farmers apply artificial fertilisers such as DAP to enrich their soils. PHOTO/ FILE
It is not good to blindly apply manure on the soil before ascertaining what nutrients are lacking. You could be adding to the soil a particular nutrient that already exists in sufficient amounts and end up with poor yields. Whenever crops are harvested and sold, they take with them the soil nutrients that they consumed from the garden where they were grown. Those nutrients have to be replaced in the soil for the farmer to continue getting good harvests.”
Soil testing
Ssendaula further urges the government to make it cheaper for ordinary farmers to have the soil of their gardens regularly tested by putting soil testing labs at every sub-county so that they use fertilisers according to the nutrients requirement of their gardens.
He says goats’ droppings make the best organic manure, but it may be necessary in some cases to apply synthetic fertilisers whenever they are recommended by agricultural services extension officers.
Organic fertilisers
Organic fertilisers include livestock waste items such as excreta and droppings, as well as their beddings. Some people refer to this type of fertiliser as farm yard manure.
But also, all rotting organic material such as leaves and grass make good organic manure. Covering the ground in the garden with grass or leaves (mulching) is also one of the best ways of protecting and enriching the soil. Agriculturists recommend that farmyard manure and other forms of organic manure are applied in large amounts since their effects on plant growth are slow in coming compared to synthetic fertilisers.
Synthetic fertilisers
Synthetic fertilisers are artificial manures containing plant nutrients in high and definite concentrations.
Their effects on crops are almost immediate and they are less bulky during application.
A small container equal to a tea cup may have the nutrients present in a full basin of poultry manure. A fifty-kilogramme ag of synthetic fertiliser may be as effective in perhaps an acre as a truck load of cow dung would do.
The farmer who uses synthetic fertiliser does not have to use a truck or spend money on diesel and paying labourers.
However the effects of most artificial fertilisers take a few months in the soil before they disappear.
Farmers often have challenges with fighting weeds using simple tools such as sickles and hoes, especially when they have a wide acreage.
Herbicides are a quick and effective way of fighting weeds and the trend for most farmers these days is to spray them over the weeds.
But the use of herbicides puts our rich agricultural biodiversity at risk as they randomly kill off many other edible and medicinal plants that grow wildly with the weeds. Such plants include our traditional Ugandan vegetables like (in Buganda region) nsugga, mbooga, kadaali etc.
The herbicides and pesticides may also kill bees, ants, and other important and edible insects. Our local chickens and wild birds feed on insects either flying in the air or moving about on the ground.
However, it has to be borne in mind that some pests spread plant killing diseases just like the female anopheles mosquito spreads malaria, a major killer disease in humans. People must go to clinics where malaria is treated with chemicals.
The ticks and tsetse fly spread fatal animal diseases. Vet doctors prescribe chemical medicines to treat the diseases.
Can we really afford not to visit an agro input shop to buy the medicines to redeem the lives of our domestic animals? Crops such tomatoes, Irish potatoes, and cotton heavily depend on pesticides to survive.
Organic farmers learn to bury green leaves in the ground to enrich the soil.
Can farmers of the crops avoid buying the chemicals to kill the pests? Modern biotechnology has been applied to develop crop varieties that are resistant to diseases and others that are tolerant to hazards like drought.
Disease resistant crops can be grown without pesticide application and would be healthier to eat. Biotechnology innovations (GMO) have resulted in disease resistant crop varieties.
National Agricultural Research Organisation (Naro) researchers have come up with disease resistant Irish potatoes that can be grown without much use of pesticides but in Uganda it is against the law to grow GMO crops. Early planting, pruning, growing disease resistant crop varieties, and timely disposal of diseased plants can minimise usage of pesticides and herbicides.
Dangers of artificial fertilisers
Dr Eseri Nankya a soil scientist in Naro says the use of artificial fertilisers boosts crop production but over time
harvest volumes decline because of the chemicals’side effects on the soil.
She says mindless application of synthetic fertilisers causes the loss of microorganisms that naturally support humus formation and soil health.
“It is okay to use agricultural chemicals for now but in the long run it is not sustainable. The farmers who use them should do so with constant consultation of agricultural research stations. They should regularly seek guidance from agricultural extension officers.”She recommends regenerative agriculture practices as the best approach and usage of both organic and artificial fertilisers, tree planting, and soil erosion mitigation.
According to a handbook for coffee farmers prepared by the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) regenerative agriculture is a conservation and rehabilitation approach to farming.
It is a new farming system led by restorative principles and practices that are centred around optimising soil and plant health, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving waste and water management and improving farmers’ livelihoods.
