The picture shows the farmer steering in the 1,000 liters collection tank for the waste at the kraal (Amon Aine)

BANANA PLANTATION INTEGRATED FERTILIZER-IRRIGATION TECHNOLOGY (Uganda)

Okushukyerera na okuteka amasha omurutokye

Description

The irrigation fertilizer system is an innovation designed to distribute manure and water in a banana plantation. A kraal (livestock zero grazing shed) with a cow dung reservior, set up uphill and connected with pipes to deliver diluted cow dug to a banana plantation downslope. This reduces the labor required for waste management at the Kraal while maintainig soil fertility.

The Kraal (livestock zero grazing shed) was initially designed with a waste management system to hold cow dug in a reservoir for 1 to 2 months before being used in a 2-acre garden as manure. However, the farmer faced challenges transporting and distributing manure to the garden which was tedious and time wasting.

The dung from 4 cows is first mixed with water at a ratio of 1 (dung): 3 (water) as it drains into the reservoir producing approximately 1,500 litres of liquid manure monthly. Therefore, a pipe outlet was devised at the base of the cow dung reservoir to transport the waste 50m down-slope into 3 other reservoirs (each 2×1×1m, l×w×h) evenly distributed within the garden. These reservoirs store the liquid manure until the farmer wishes to fertilize the garden.

The garden preparation starts with clearing the weeds and then excavating small trenches that direct the flow of the liquid manure to any direction of interest in the garden. At different points along the flow in the trenches, the farmer opens tributaries leading to pits dug at least 0.75 m away from the banana plantains of interest. The pits made are normally approximately of 12.5 litres capacity. The trenches, tributaries and pits are then covered with soil after a day. This integrated fertilizer-irrigation system can only be possible on farms established on a gently sloping terrain. To set up the system one must have an animal house or any other source of animal dung uphill. The source must be able to provide enough dung to sustain the gardens established downhill.

Alternatively, the system can also be set up with a biogas plant replacing the cow dung reservoir to produce biogas for domestic energy supply and the slurry being used as manure. In case of such modification, the biogas should be set up at a slightly elevated position to give the liquid digestate a gravity force to flow to the garden. A foundation is excavated and a mixing chamber (50 litres capacity) constructed at some distance away from the farm house as well as 3 reservoirs to store the digestate (of a capacity at least 400 litres each) sited in the garden. An outlet pipe is fixed at the bottom of the mixing chamber through which the slurry can be channelled into the garden after the fermentation process producing biogas has stopped.

The construction process of the system without the biogas plant cost the farmer labour worth USD $ 13.44, construction materials were USD $ 251.04 and equipment USD $ 32.25. According to the farmer, the system is averagely expensive in the short run but profitable in the long run.

The system eases waste management and reduces costs of labour. The farmer, over the last 3 seasons realized improvement in the number of banana bunches harvested from averagely 50 to 60 bunches per month. The bunch weight also increased from 8-15Kg to 10-25Kg on average which is important for food security and livelihood.

The impacts of drought on the plantation have reduced compared to the time before adopting the technology. The farmer recommends upscaling since it is easy to manage, it improves productivity and is environment friendly. The major challenge is lack of enough cow dung supply from the kraal and scarcity of water in the dry season. A rainwater harvest system may be constructed to collect and provide water for diluting the cowdung.

Location

Location: Rwentuha T/C , Kitwe, Wester Uganda, Bushenyi, Uganda

No. of Technology sites analysed: single site

Geo-reference of selected sites
  • 30.26895, -0.54969

Spread of the Technology: evenly spread over an area (approx. < 0.1 km2 (10 ha))

Date of implementation: 2016

Type of introduction
The photo shows a a tributary trench leading the liquid manure to one side of the banana plantation. (Amon Aine)

Classification of the Technology

Main purpose
  • improve production
  • reduce, prevent, restore land degradation
  • conserve ecosystem
  • protect a watershed/ downstream areas – in combination with other Technologies
  • preserve/ improve biodiversity
  • reduce risk of disasters
  • adapt to climate change/ extremes and its impacts
  • mitigate climate change and its impacts
  • create beneficial economic impact
  • create beneficial social impact
Land use

  • Mixed (crops/ grazing/ trees), incl. agroforestry - Agro-silvopastoralism

Water supply
  • rainfed
  • mixed rainfed-irrigated
  • full irrigation

Number of growing seasons per year: 2
Land use before implementation of the Technology: n.a.
Livestock density: n.a.

Purpose related to land degradation
  • prevent land degradation
  • reduce land degradation
  • restore/ rehabilitate severely degraded land
  • adapt to land degradation
  • not applicable
Degradation addressed
  • chemical soil deterioration - Cn: fertility decline and reduced organic matter content (not caused by erosion)
  • physical soil deterioration - Pu: loss of bio-productive function due to other activities
  • water degradation - Hp: decline of surface water quality, Hq: decline of groundwater quality
SLM group
  • integrated crop-livestock management
SLM measures
  • structural measures - S3: Graded ditches, channels, waterways, S5: Dams, pans, ponds, S7: Water harvesting/ supply/ irrigation equipment
  • management measures - M3: Layout according to natural and human environment

Technical drawing

Technical specifications
The cowdung reservior of 2 cubic meters (with a capacity of 2000 litre slurry per month). A doom plastic pipe outlet at the bottom of the reservoir drains into the hand dug channels. Trenches of about 0.25 m diameter are constructed to directly drain the flow of the liquid waste to any direction of interest in the plantation. At different points along, tributaries are made leading to points atleast 0.75 m away from the foot of the banana plant. When the trenches fill up, they are left for a day before covering them with soil as manure.

Establishment and maintenance: activities, inputs and costs

Calculation of inputs and costs
  • Costs are calculated: per Technology area (size and area unit: 4 acres of banana plantation fed with cowdung manure from 4 cows under zero grazing)
  • Currency used for cost calculation: Uganda shillings
  • Exchange rate (to USD): 1 USD = 3638.0 Uganda shillings
  • Average wage cost of hired labour per day: 17000.0
Most important factors affecting the costs
Establishment of the reservoirs and the labor required to construct them
Establishment activities
  1. Excavation of the main reservior (Timing/ frequency: Best done during the dry season)
  2. Construction of the reservoirs (Timing/ frequency: Best done during the dry season)
  3. Establishment of under ground doom pipe (Timing/ frequency: None)
  4. Excavation of cannals within the plantation (Timing/ frequency: When its time to fertilize the plantation)
Establishment inputs and costs (per 4 acres of banana plantation fed with cowdung manure from 4 cows under zero grazing)
Specify input Unit Quantity Costs per Unit (Uganda shillings) Total costs per input (Uganda shillings) % of costs borne by land users
Labour
Labour Man day 3.0 17000.0 51000.0 100.0
Equipment
Hoe hire pieces 2.0 5000.0 10000.0 100.0
Panga pieces 1.0 9999.0 9999.0 100.0
Hammer pieces 1.0 50000.0 50000.0 100.0
Wheel barrow hire pieces 1.0 50000.0 50000.0 100.0
Construction material
Cement 60kg bags 13.0 29000.0 377000.0 100.0
Sand 1 tonne trips 2.0 70000.0 140000.0 100.0
Bricks 1 tonne trip 1.0 270000.0 270000.0 100.0
Doom pipe Meters 2.0 15000.0 30000.0 100.0
Total costs for establishment of the Technology 987'999.0
Maintenance activities
  1. Washing the cow dug into the kraal (Timing/ frequency: Daily)
  2. Mixing water and manure (Timing/ frequency: Daily)
  3. Construction of trenches and pits in the garden (Timing/ frequency: None)
  4. Release of manure into the garden and covering of the pits and trenches (Timing/ frequency: After the pits have filled with slurry)
Maintenance inputs and costs (per 4 acres of banana plantation fed with cowdung manure from 4 cows under zero grazing)
Specify input Unit Quantity Costs per Unit (Uganda shillings) Total costs per input (Uganda shillings) % of costs borne by land users
Labour
Labour to clean the cow shed and the reservoir and drain it Man day 1.0 17000.0 17000.0 100.0
Labour to excavate temporary drains Man per month 2.0 150000.0 300000.0 100.0
Equipment
Spade piece 1.0 50000.0 50000.0 100.0
Hoe piece 1.0 50000.0 50000.0 100.0
Total costs for maintenance of the Technology 417'000.0

Natural environment

Average annual rainfall
  • < 250 mm
  • 251-500 mm
  • 501-750 mm
  • 751-1,000 mm
  • 1,001-1,500 mm
  • 1,501-2,000 mm
  • 2,001-3,000 mm
  • 3,001-4,000 mm
  • > 4,000 mm
Agro-climatic zone
  • humid
  • sub-humid
  • semi-arid
  • arid
Specifications on climate
n.a.
Slope
  • flat (0-2%)
  • gentle (3-5%)
  • moderate (6-10%)
  • rolling (11-15%)
  • hilly (16-30%)
  • steep (31-60%)
  • very steep (>60%)
Landforms
  • plateau/plains
  • ridges
  • mountain slopes
  • hill slopes
  • footslopes
  • valley floors
Altitude
  • 0-100 m a.s.l.
  • 101-500 m a.s.l.
  • 501-1,000 m a.s.l.
  • 1,001-1,500 m a.s.l.
  • 1,501-2,000 m a.s.l.
  • 2,001-2,500 m a.s.l.
  • 2,501-3,000 m a.s.l.
  • 3,001-4,000 m a.s.l.
  • > 4,000 m a.s.l.
Technology is applied in
  • convex situations
  • concave situations
  • not relevant
Soil depth
  • very shallow (0-20 cm)
  • shallow (21-50 cm)
  • moderately deep (51-80 cm)
  • deep (81-120 cm)
  • very deep (> 120 cm)
Soil texture (topsoil)
  • coarse/ light (sandy)
  • medium (loamy, silty)
  • fine/ heavy (clay)
Soil texture (> 20 cm below surface)
  • coarse/ light (sandy)
  • medium (loamy, silty)
  • fine/ heavy (clay)
Topsoil organic matter content
  • high (>3%)
  • medium (1-3%)
  • low (<1%)
Groundwater table
  • on surface
  • < 5 m
  • 5-50 m
  • > 50 m
Availability of surface water
  • excess
  • good
  • medium
  • poor/ none
Water quality (untreated)
  • good drinking water
  • poor drinking water (treatment required)
  • for agricultural use only (irrigation)
  • unusable
Is salinity a problem?
  • Yes
  • No

Occurrence of flooding
  • Yes
  • No
Species diversity
  • high
  • medium
  • low
Habitat diversity
  • high
  • medium
  • low

Characteristics of land users applying the Technology

Market orientation
  • subsistence (self-supply)
  • mixed (subsistence/ commercial
  • commercial/ market
Off-farm income
  • less than 10% of all income
  • 10-50% of all income
  • > 50% of all income
Relative level of wealth
  • very poor
  • poor
  • average
  • rich
  • very rich
Level of mechanization
  • manual work
  • animal traction
  • mechanized/ motorized
Sedentary or nomadic
  • Sedentary
  • Semi-nomadic
  • Nomadic
Individuals or groups
  • individual/ household
  • groups/ community
  • cooperative
  • employee (company, government)
Gender
  • women
  • men
Age
  • children
  • youth
  • middle-aged
  • elderly
Area used per household
  • < 0.5 ha
  • 0.5-1 ha
  • 1-2 ha
  • 2-5 ha
  • 5-15 ha
  • 15-50 ha
  • 50-100 ha
  • 100-500 ha
  • 500-1,000 ha
  • 1,000-10,000 ha
  • > 10,000 ha
Scale
  • small-scale
  • medium-scale
  • large-scale
Land ownership
  • state
  • company
  • communal/ village
  • group
  • individual, not titled
  • individual, titled
Land use rights
  • open access (unorganized)
  • communal (organized)
  • leased
  • individual
Water use rights
  • open access (unorganized)
  • communal (organized)
  • leased
  • individual
Access to services and infrastructure
health

poor
good
education

poor
good
technical assistance

poor
good
employment (e.g. off-farm)

poor
good
markets

poor
good
energy

poor
good
roads and transport

poor
good
drinking water and sanitation

poor
good
financial services

poor
good

Impacts

Socio-economic impacts
Crop production
decreased
increased

Quantity before SLM: 50 bunches
Quantity after SLM: 70bunches

animal production
decreased
increased


The hygiene at the cattle kraal has improved

risk of production failure
increased
decreased


Increase soil moisture and manure

land management
hindered
simplified


Less labor required to handle wastes from the cattle

expenses on agricultural inputs
increased
decreased

Quantity before SLM: 3 workers
Quantity after SLM: 1 worker

farm income
decreased
increased


Increased production of banana bunches per unit area monthly

workload
increased
decreased


No need for casual labor to fetch manure with baskets

Socio-cultural impacts
Ecological impacts
soil moisture
decreased
increased

soil organic matter/ below ground C
decreased
increased


Manure from dug is well distributed in the garden

drought impacts
increased
decreased


Irrigation through the liquid slurry

Off-site impacts
groundwater/ river pollution
increased
reduced


Waste from the cattle is well managed and utilized for manure

Cost-benefit analysis

Benefits compared with establishment costs
Short-term returns
very negative
very positive

Long-term returns
very negative
very positive

Benefits compared with maintenance costs
Short-term returns
very negative
very positive

Long-term returns
very negative
very positive

Climate change

Gradual climate change
annual temperature increase

not well at all
very well
seasonal temperature increase

not well at all
very well
Season: wet/ rainy season
seasonal rainfall decrease

not well at all
very well
Season: wet/ rainy season
Climate-related extremes (disasters)
local rainstorm

not well at all
very well
local hailstorm

not well at all
very well
heatwave

not well at all
very well
drought

not well at all
very well

not well at all
very well
Other climate-related consequences
extended growing period

not well at all
very well
reduced growing period

not well at all
very well
Soil moisture loss

not well at all
very well

Adoption and adaptation

Percentage of land users in the area who have adopted the Technology
  • single cases/ experimental
  • 1-10%
  • 10-50%
  • more than 50%
Of all those who have adopted the Technology, how many have done so without receiving material incentives?
  • 0-10%
  • 10-50%
  • 50-90%
  • 90-100%
Has the Technology been modified recently to adapt to changing conditions?
  • Yes
  • No
To which changing conditions?
  • climatic change/ extremes
  • changing markets
  • labour availability (e.g. due to migration)
The farmer intends to establish a waterreservoir for rain water harvesting

Conclusions and lessons learnt

Strengths: land user's view
  • Less labour required to manage waste at the cattle kraal
  • The system allows easy manuring of the banana plantation
  • The system enables increase in soil moisture for the banana plantation
Strengths: compiler’s or other key resource person’s view
  • The digester from the biogas plant releases slurry free of microbes hence reduces possible infections
Weaknesses/ disadvantages/ risks: land user's viewhow to overcome
  • The system requires constant water supply hence it might be affected by long drought spells due to water scarcity Construction of water reservoirs
Weaknesses/ disadvantages/ risks: compiler’s or other key resource person’s viewhow to overcome
  • The system requires use of enough dung supply from the cows and water which may not be available in the dry season Establishment of a rain water harvesting system to reserve and provide water though out the year

References

Compiler
  • Aine Amon
Editors
  • Drake Mubiru
  • Kamugisha Rick Nelson
Reviewer
  • Nicole Harari
  • Udo Höggel
Date of documentation: Jan. 31, 2018
Last update: Nov. 15, 2022
Resource persons
Full description in the WOCAT database
Linked SLM data
Documentation was faciliated by
Institution Project
Key references
  • Fertilizer Information System for Banana Plantation , Yu Shin Shuen November 2017: Open access
Links to relevant information which is available online
This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareaAlike 4.0 International