Factors contributing to declining soil fertility- a case study of mbeere embu county

Abstract

Land degradation and low soil fertility are significant environmental problem affecting agricultural productivity and livelihood in Kenya. A number of soil fertility improvement technologies are being provided by the ministry of Agriculture and NGO’s to improve agricultural productivity and food security. Improving soil fertility levels has therefore become an important agenda issue this research wishes to determine that factors contributing to declining soil fertility. This research was conducted in mbeere Embu County. The set objectives were; assessed the farmer’s knowledge on fertility decline, determined the farmers effort in improving soil fertility and determined the factors limiting the adoption of improvement techniques. Household questionnaires, observations and literature review were used in collection of both secondary and primary data. Pilot test and interpretation were used to test validity and reliability of instruments. The researcher adopted purposive and simple random sampling and 120 and households were covered. The data was analyzed using statistics and SPSS and presented in form of charts, tables and percentages.The significance of this study was to derive solutions to soil fertility problems which will enhance improvements and increase in productivity.