The economics of short rotation improved fallows: evidence from areas of high population density in Western Kenya

This study assesses the economics of improved fallow in the densely-populated areas of western Kenya, where soils are nutrient-depleted. A formal survey of 71 farmers showed that half periodically fallow 10–50% of their land for at least one season, mainly for soil fertility restoration. This is a higher proportion than expected for areas of high population density. An improved-fallow prototype, established by direct seeding Sesbania sesban, an indigenous tree, into the maize crop preceding the fallow, was subjected to an economic analysis, based on twenty farmer-managed trials where the technology was tested. One would intuitively expect that the yield of maize grown after a fallow would need to be at least double that obtained before the fallow in order to compensate for the lost production during the fallow period. Instead, the break-even yield increase following the one-season fallow, compared to continuous cropping, was only 21% of the long rains yield of 600 kg/ha for the base scenario. It was relatively, low, because the foregone maize yield during the fallow was compensated by savings in crop labour. Improved fallow is a promising technique for reclaiming depleted land, especially for households with access to off-farm income or having low labour-to-land ratios. The farm trials facilitated a realistic economic analysis and farmers' input into the design of the technology to help focus research on improving the practice

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DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0308-521X(96)00098-4

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