Abstract:

The fertility of Uganda soils is on the whole, declining. This is due to poor farming practices characterised by low inputs use, among other factors, and a generally poor farmers' response to soil conservation practices. Decrease in arable land means that farmers can no longer afford long fallow periods to restore/maintain soil fertility. With the majority of Ugandan farming population predominantly rural and practicing subsistence farming, there is need to modernise agriculture in order to feed the rising population. Studies in Uganda and elsewhere have shown that soil fertility and productivity can be maintained through use of inorganic fertilisers supplemented by organic materials. A good fertiliser management programme is preceded by a n appropriately conducted soil test complemented with plant tissue analysis and correlated with field crop response data to generate fertiliser recommendations. While a little fertiliser recommendation depends o n the level of soil fertility, the crop to be grown and the yield goal, fertiliser efficiency depends on the characteristics of the fertiliser material, the timing and mode of application. Attaining and sustaining higher crop yields are a collective challenge to farmers and scientists in the 21'' century.