4.2. Soil fertility management strategies
Soil fertility management practices in the study area as in most parts of the tropics have evolved over a long period of time and farmers have learnt to adopt fertility management strategies relevant to their farming objectives (Adedipe et al., 2004). Of all the fertility management practices, zero burning and the retention of crop residues are the most widely used fertility management systems with 80% and 75% of farmers respectively using the two techniques. Retaining trees on farmlands, inorganic fertilizer and manure application and fallowing are the other techniques farmers use to sustain fertility. Traditionally, farmers in southern Ghana burn the cut vegetation after clearing virgin or fallowed land (Amanor, 1994). Farmers’ principal reasons for burning the cut vegetation during land preparation are to remove excessive debris and clear access. Only about 6% of the responding farmers admitted to consciously using burning as a soil fertility management tool while 80% of farmers said they use zero burning (prɔka) with the aim of sustaining or improving soil fertility.