"We need people to advise farmers on how to apply fertiliser, control pests and prevent post-harvest losses [such as those caused by inadequate storage]." Okot is not alone in stressing the importance of extension services.
Emissions from farming, including nitrous oxide from applying fertiliser and CO2 from ploughing fields accounts for more than 10% of the global total right now.
The report says Europe needs nitrogen fertilisers for its own food security but blames many farmers for applying fertiliser carelessly to crops, so that excess nitrogen runs off to pollute water supplies.
The possibility of improving the water use efficiency (q) of maize crops by applying fertiliser N was tested under irrigated and rainfed conditions.
Measures to reduce N leaching losses in forests include minimising vegetation control at planting, maximising tree N uptake by correcting other growth-limiting factors, facilitating rapid site revegetation after harvesting, avoiding harvesting in winter/early spring, and applying fertiliser to coastal sands or other sites prone to high N leaching in small, but frequent, doses.
If soil has compacted, turn it over a little and churn it before applying fertiliser.
Analysis of the information can tell farmers about the health of their crops, giving them early warning of any problems and allowing them to apply fertilisers, pesticides and water more efficiently.
"It's not with anything very exotic, it has to do with the way we apply fertilisers to our fields, it has to do with conservation tillage so you don't plough the fields very rigorously".
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.01917.001 About 1% of global energy output is used to produce nitrogen-enriched fertiliser to improve crop yields, but much of this energy is wasted because plants absorb only a fraction of the nitrogen that is applied as fertiliser.
A number of studies have also shown that biochars can reduce nitrate and ammonium leaching from applied N fertilisers, but the effectiveness depends on the chemical characteristics of the biochars and their rate of application [6 8].
