Get reliable rangeland science

Rangelands in Uganda covers an area of 84.000Km2 which is about 44% of the country's land mass. Commonly known as the Cattle Corridor, it stretches from the south through the central region to the northeastern part of Uganda and supports pastoral and agropastoral communities. Food insecurity in Uganda has been considered an outcome of low agricultural productivity which is attributed to the gradual decline in soil fertility originating primarily from anthropogenic causes including continuous tillage and mono-cropping as well as reduced agricultural inputs. In our study, we highlight 2 smart agricultural technologies as alternative solutions to low soil fertility: Organic fertilizers tend to be costly to farmers without integrated agricultural systems but some of their benefits include: preservation of soil by minimizing negative effects on the environment, exhibiting stability and resilience to a changing climate, having a beneficial effect of increasing organic matter and soil fauna and improving soil quality. Vermicomposting is a technology that utilizes different species of earthworms coupled with microorganisms to mechanically digest the organic matter thereby enhancing mineralization. However, there is a need to apply the organic waste as the raw material to be digested; therefore, interplay of organic waste and the vermicomposting organisms is needed to achieve the mineralization.