International Food Policy Institute (Ifpri) has observed that agricultural productivity and profitability are not responding well to the use of inorganic fertilisers in Malawi and some sub Saharan African countries.
In a study titled ‘Maize yield responsiveness and profitability of fertiliser: New survey evidence from six African countries’, the institute said that increasing inorganic fertiliser use would be profitable in Ethiopia, Ghana and Nigeria, but not in Malawi and Tanzania.
the environment | Nation
Reads part of the report: “Subsidies in Malawi and Tanzania have boosted profitability, but these may not be necessary in Ghana, Nigeria or Uganda, which already have favourable price incentives; Malawi could benefit by substantially reducing its 80 percent subsidy while maintaining decent price incentives and farm profits.”
According to the report, most countries exhibited low nitrogen yield responsiveness of four to seven kilogramme (kg) while Ghana and Uganda showed higher responsiveness of 15 to 20 kg per additional one kg of nitrogen.
In an interview, agricultural policy expert Tamani Nkhono-Mvula agreed with the study findings, observing that the inorganic fertiliser impact has been dropping over time because Malawian soils have been overdegraded, which makes farming not as profitable as before.
He said: “The problem with inorganic fertilisers is that we need to replenish our top soil. For inorganic fertilisers to be efficient there is a need to first replace the environment like natural trees that were depleted in most parts of the country.”
Earlier, an agriculture economist Innocent Pangapanga Phiri observed that one of the available alternatives is timely investments in soil health amendment or improvement services.
He said this incorporates organo-mineral related fertilisers which advocate a combination of some proportion of inorganic fertilisers together with organic manure that are either animal or plant-based.
Fertiliser Association of Malawi data shows that the country uses between 400 000 and 500 000 metric tonnes of inorganic fertilisers annually, with any drop in supply having a bearing on food production.
