Climate-smart nutrient management to narrow maize yield gaps in Kenya and Tanzania
Description
Ensuring food security in sub-Saharan Africa in a sustainable manner is one of the main future challenges. The Crop Nutrient Gaps project (http://www.cropnutrientgap.org/) explores ways to substantially improve maize productivity in SSA (Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania) without corresponding increases in emission intensities of GHGs and nutrients to the environment. As smart nutrient management is key, we formulate promising options for managing nutrient gaps, based on the ‘4Rs nutrient stewardship’ approach in fertilization (Right type, Right amount, Right placing and Right timing of fertilizers) taking location specific conditions into account.
The project builds upon results of the Global Yield Gap Atlas (www.yieldgap.org) and translates yield gaps into nutrient gaps and nutrient management packages. Some of the proposed packages are tested on-farm in West Kenya and Southwest Tanzania, together with a social enterprise and fertilizer company (Yara). Between December 2017 and June 2018 an internship or MSc thesis subject is available in Tanzania in a set of on-farm maize trials and between March and September 2018 one or two positions are available for such trials in West Kenya. You will assess different nutrient management variants in an on-farm setting and calculate various parameters than can also be used in modelling studies on trade-off in soil fertility management (trade-off between production, GHG emissions and profit). Depending on your preferences, the internship or MSc thesis can be experimental or a combination of experimentation and modelling.
Collaboration
Agrics in Kenya; SUA and Yara in Tanzania.
Prerequisites
Preferably a plant sciences (crops, farm and nutrient management) background with interest in experimentation and/or statistical analysis and modelling.
Location
West Kenya or SW Tanzania, possibly combined with Wageningen
Period
December 2017 – September 2018
Supervisors
Martin van Ittersum 0317-482382 martin.vanittersum@wur.nl
Tom Schut 0317-482454 tom.schut@wur.nl
Hein ten Berge hein.tenberge@wur.nl