1. Study sites in East Africa Kobo (North-Eastern Eth) and Nekemte (Western Eth)- sites in Ethiopia Kakamega (Western Kenya)- a site in Kenya

3. Preliminary research findings a) Characteristics of the 3 study sites Kobo Nekemte Kakamega Altitude 1416-1634 1748-2418 1426-1719 Major soil types Vertisol Nitisol Oxisol Mean annual RFall (mm) 768 1037 2009 Mean annual temp ( o C ) 30 29 28 Total village population 330-2250 196-391 400-5000 Total village HHs 66-245 35-70 80-1200 Total village land 308-3640 74-164 200-900 Total cultivated land 264-1120 61-149 160-810

b) Dominant crop and livestock types in EA sites Kobo Teff, sorghum, maize, chickpea and vegetables Nekemte Maize, teff , sorghum, finger millet, wheat, barley, oat, faba bean, noug, vegetables and beet root, potato, anchote Kakamega Maize , finger millet, sorghum, beans , bambara nuts, groundnuts, vegetables, sweet potatoes, cassava, taro, banana and sugarcane

Livestock species Livestock species

c) Cultural practices in the EA sites ( % HH practicing ) Manure application in Kakamega Tillage practice in Kobo Kobo Nekemet Kakamega Hand weeding 100 97 98 Chemical fertilizer 0 95 80 Manure application 33 93 47 Tillage by animal 100 100 64 Tillage by tractor 10 0 11 Herbicide application 57 91 0

d) Major crop residue types in EA sites Kobo : Tef straw, sorghum stover, maize stover, chickpea hull Nekemte : Tef straw, maize stover, barley straw, wheat straw, faba bean trash, finger millet straw Kakamega : Maize stover, maize cobs, beans straw, sugarcane tops, groundnut hauls, sweet potato vines, banana stems, soya bean straw, millet straws, beans trash, vegetable stalks

Uses e) Uses of crop residues at the 3 EA sites

f) Trends on the use of crop residues Bars above the lines indicate increase in the last 10 yrs while bars below graphs indicate decreases.

g) Drivers/challenges of agriculture in the 3 EA sites Poor and unreliable rainfall – limit crop productivity and biomass production, create shortage of drinking water Kobo : High human population, small land holding, very low employment opportunities Feed shortage – high livestock population, less quantity and quality feed

Soil erosion and gully formation – competing farming land and affecting the quality and quantity of crop product and by-products Competing use of CR and dung for fuel, free dung collection, deforestation

Nekemte: Soil acidity – high rainfall, P-fixation, Al toxicity- limits crop productivity Declining soil fertility- deforestation, soil erosion, depletion of nutrients, crop and biomass yield reduction Poor infrastructure and market - high price of inputs and low price of products

Kakamega: Soil fertility decline- intensive cropping, soil acidity More livestock technological packages, high price of inputs and services High population, low employment opportunity, declining of landholding