Afriex Development Institute

INTEGRATED SOIL HEALTH AND FERTILITY MANAGEMENT COURSE

INTRODUCTION

Integrated soil health and fertility management (ISHFM) is the key in raising productivity levels while maintaining the natural resource base. This training course aims to guide participants on how to replenish soil nutrient pools, maximize on-farm recycling of nutrients, and reduce nutrient losses to the environment and improving the efficiency of external inputs.

DURATION

5 days

TARGET AUDIENCE

This course is intended for various actors in the Agriculture Extension (Agricultural extension officers, senior agricultural officials and policy makers) working with communities, in governments, funding agencies, Research organizations and non-government organizations among others for Agriculture support activities and other development programmes.

OBJECTIVES

By the end of the course, learners will be able to:

v  Understand validated and participatory approach to designing and implementing effective ISHFM programs

v  Apply a participatory approach to designing and implementing an ISHFM program.

v  Understand soil fertility concepts and factors that make a soil fertile and productive.

v  Gain knowledge on how to identify soil nutrient problems and opportunities.

v  Understand soil fertility enhancing strategies that maximize profits and agronomic use efficiency.

v  Understand the methodologies and tools to assess suitability, economic feasibility, and impacts of ISHFM on agricultural production, soil fertility, and the environment.

v  Understand how to promote ISHFM to farmers and other stakeholders.

COURSE OUTLINE

v  Introduction to ISHFM and basic concepts

·        Soil Fertility and soil health

·        Physical, chemical and agronomic characteristics of soils

·        Problem Soils (Saline, sodic, saline-sodic, and acid sulfate soils)

·        Remedial measures and management techniques for selected problem soils

v  Soil Fertility Management

·        Overview of nutrition and plant growth

·        Diagnosis of nutrient deficiencies and corrective measures

·        Organic and inorganic fertilizers

·        Livestock integration

·        Criteria for fertilizer recommendations

·        Roles of organic matter and its maintenance

·        Integrated plant nutrition systems

v  Soil Conservation

·        Mechanics of soil erosion

·        Soil erosivity and erodibility

·        Maximizing on-farm recycling of nutrients

·        Mechanical and biological measures for erosion control

·        Tillage management

·        Crop management practices

v  ISHFM Strategies to Maximize Profits and Agronomic Use Efficiency

·        Reducing nutrient losses - blocking nutrient flows from leaving the farm

·        Better management of available resources - managing internal flows of nutrients

·        Improving the efficiency of nutrient uptake

·        Economic considerations

·        Computer-based decision support tools

v  Extension Techniques

·        Overview of agricultural extension approaches

·        Conceptual framework for agricultural extension campaign

·        Extension program planning and implementation

·        Farmer training

v  Non-Agronomic Soil Components

·        Support for rural credit systems

·        Market-oriented institutional changes

·        Improving linkages between research and extension support institutions

REQUIREMENTS

Participants should be reasonably proficient in English. Applicants must live up to Afriex Training Ltd admission criteria.

METHODOLOGY

This course will utilize a variety of proven adult learning techniques to ensure maximum understanding, comprehension and retention of the information presented

TRAINING VENUE, LOGISTICS AND PAYMENT

v  Training is residential and will be held at Afriex Training Centre.

v  The course fee covers the course tuition, training materials, two break refreshments, lunch, and study visits.

v  Accommodation and airport transfer are arranged upon request by the participant.

v  This training can also be tailor made for your institution upon request. You can have it delivered in our training Centre or at a convenient location.

v  For further inquiries, please contact us on training@afriextraining.org

v  Payment should be made to Afriex Training Limited bank account before the start of the training and receipts sent to training@afriextraining.org

v  Upon successful completion of this training, participants will be issued with an Afriex Training Ltd certificate.