The potential of wastes to improve nutrient levels in agricultural soils: A material flow analysis case study from Busia District, Uganda
Loading...
Date
2015
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment
Abstract
Like many other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), Uganda faces a remarkable soil nutrient deficit in
farmland soils. In order to cope with this deficit, many authors suggest increasing the recycling of hitherto
unused nutrient sources from human excrement and urban municipal solid waste (MSW). However, a
quantification of the potential of these nutrient sources to overcome soil nutrient deficits in Uganda has
not been carried out so far. This research paper presents a case study calculating the soil nutrient balance
for nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K), as well as the potential of hitherto unused human
excrement and urban MSW to decrease soil nutrient deficits in agricultural land by applying the method
of material
flow analysis (MFA) in Busia District (Uganda). Results show a high soil nutrient deficit of
agricultural soils in the district, with values of
33 kg N ha 1,
6 kg P ha 1, and
41 kg K ha 1. The
potential to reduce these negative balances is negligible for hitherto unused urban MSW (1–3%), but
higher for human excrement (17–60%). The low potential of urban MSW as well as the hygienic problems
associated with human excrement (particularly feces) means that other measures such as soil
conservation and mineral fertilizer application should not be ignored in the effort to increase agricultural
productivity. This is not only valid for Busia District, but also for other regions in SSA.
Description
Keywords
Material flow analysis, Soil nutrient balance, Uganda, Organic waste, Human excrement, Recycling
Citation
Lederer, J., Karungi, J., & Ogwang, F. (2015). The potential of wastes to improve nutrient levels in agricultural soils: A material flow analysis case study from Busia District, Uganda. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 207, 26-39. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2015.03.024