Abstract

Soil fertility management options to restore soil fertility depletion have been developed and these consist of inorganic and organic fertilizer applications. However, the adoption rates by smallholder farmers for these soil fertility management options are negligible. The overall aim of this study was to evaluate side-by-side economic aspects of different soil fertility improvement options, which have been tested in the region. Field experiments were carried out to evaluate soil fertility management options on potato-bean production in five districts in south-rift, Kenya (Narok, Bomet, Bureti, Kericho and Konoin). It appeared that application of organic residues is a more feasible and sustainable alternative to the recommended fertilizers. However, for long term yield improvement, fertilization with these recommended fertilizers would only be profitable if applied seasonally.

Key words: Fertility depletion, restoration option, economics.