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1 Introduction: Background and Context
Declining soil fertility due to low and inappropriate fertilizer use, continuous
monocropping and inappropriate crop residue management are considered major
constraints to increased crop productivity in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and Malawi
in particular (Mhango et al. 2012; Ngwira et al. 2012; Vanlauwe 2015; Kanyamuka
et al. 2018). To address the problem, the Government of Malawi has been implementing the Farm Input Subsidy Program (FISP) to enable farmers to access chemical fertilizers and improved seed to boost maize production (Holden and Lunduka
2010). Following successive implementation of the programme, Malawi was reportedly able to achieve significant food production and productivity (primarily in
maize), contributing to increased food security, high real wages and poverty reduction (Dorward and Chirwa 2011).
However, FISP is largely implemented using government resources and takes up
a large share of the national budget, thereby posing sustainability challenges. As
noted by Dorward and Chirwa (2011), the later years of the programme have been
accompanied by high international fertilizer prices and import costs. Future
Agricultures Consortium (FAC 2010) also notes that input subsidies such as the
FISP are difficult to remove and are badly targeted such that only affluent famers get
much of the benefits at the expense of poor farmers. Therefore, there is a need to
identify sustainable strategies that can make the FISP more profitable to smallholder
farmers. One of the sustainable intensification strategies that has proven successful
in raising the efficiency of fertilizer use and improving smallholder productivity is
integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) technologies (Ollenburger 2012;
Sommer et al. 2013; Vanlauwe 2015).
Fairhurst (2012) defined ISFM as a set of soil fertility management practices that
necessarily include the use of inorganic fertilizer, organic inputs and improved germ
plasm, combined with the knowledge of how to adapt these practices to local conditions aiming at optimizing agronomic use efficiency of the applied nutrients and
improving crop productivity. Vanlauwe (2015), Mhango et al. (2012) and Ollenburger
(2012) note that integrating legumes in farming systems is key to implementation of
ISFM. Therefore, LUANAR, formerly known as Bunda College of Agriculture,
with financial support from the McKnight Foundation Collaborative Crops Research
Program, has been implementing a project entitled “Legume Best Bets to Acquire
Phosphorous and Nitrogen and Improve Family Nutrition” to assist the smallholder
farmers boost agricultural production. The project has been implemented in
Northern Malawi at Ekwendeni in Mzimba District and in Central Malawi at
Mkanakhoti Extension Planning Area (EPA) in Kasungu District since 2006/2007.
While the benefits of ISFM technologies in enhancing fertilizer use efficiency and
improving maize productivity are widely acknowledged in the literature (Marenya
and Barrett 2007; Fairhurst 2012; Lambrecht et al. 2014a), their adoption among
smallholder farmers remains fairly low (Kassie et al. 2013; Kamau et al. 2013). This
J. S. Kanyamuka et al.
1 Introduction: Background and Context
Declining soil fertility due to low and inappropriate fertilizer use, continuous
monocropping and inappropriate crop residue management are considered major
constraints to increased crop productivity in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and Malawi
in particular (Mhango et al. 2012; Ngwira et al. 2012; Vanlauwe 2015; Kanyamuka
et al. 2018). To address the problem, the Government of Malawi has been implementing the Farm Input Subsidy Program (FISP) to enable farmers to access chemical fertilizers and improved seed to boost maize production (Holden and Lunduka
2010). Following successive implementation of the programme, Malawi was reportedly able to achieve significant food production and productivity (primarily in
maize), contributing to increased food security, high real wages and poverty reduction (Dorward and Chirwa 2011).
However, FISP is largely implemented using government resources and takes up
a large share of the national budget, thereby posing sustainability challenges. As
noted by Dorward and Chirwa (2011), the later years of the programme have been
accompanied by high international fertilizer prices and import costs. Future
Agricultures Consortium (FAC 2010) also notes that input subsidies such as the
FISP are difficult to remove and are badly targeted such that only affluent famers get
much of the benefits at the expense of poor farmers. Therefore, there is a need to
identify sustainable strategies that can make the FISP more profitable to smallholder
farmers. One of the sustainable intensification strategies that has proven successful
in raising the efficiency of fertilizer use and improving smallholder productivity is
integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) technologies (Ollenburger 2012;
Sommer et al. 2013; Vanlauwe 2015).
Fairhurst (2012) defined ISFM as a set of soil fertility management practices that
necessarily include the use of inorganic fertilizer, organic inputs and improved germ
plasm, combined with the knowledge of how to adapt these practices to local conditions aiming at optimizing agronomic use efficiency of the applied nutrients and
improving crop productivity. Vanlauwe (2015), Mhango et al. (2012) and Ollenburger
(2012) note that integrating legumes in farming systems is key to implementation of
ISFM. Therefore, LUANAR, formerly known as Bunda College of Agriculture,
with financial support from the McKnight Foundation Collaborative Crops Research
Program, has been implementing a project entitled “Legume Best Bets to Acquire
Phosphorous and Nitrogen and Improve Family Nutrition” to assist the smallholder
farmers boost agricultural production. The project has been implemented in
Northern Malawi at Ekwendeni in Mzimba District and in Central Malawi at
Mkanakhoti Extension Planning Area (EPA) in Kasungu District since 2006/2007.
While the benefits of ISFM technologies in enhancing fertilizer use efficiency and
improving maize productivity are widely acknowledged in the literature (Marenya
and Barrett 2007; Fairhurst 2012; Lambrecht et al. 2014a), their adoption among
smallholder farmers remains fairly low (Kassie et al. 2013; Kamau et al. 2013). This
J. S. Kanyamuka et al.