Abstract
Community based composting practices were studied in Nairobi using a questionnaire, and the quality of composts produced characterised for nutrient and heavy metal contents. An inventory of the composting groups was made using existing databases. The quality of different manure types and their sources were also noted. The movement of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) for composting and its outlets, as well as manures, were investigated through mapping of market and ecological chains. The study objectives aimed at documenting group dynamics in community based composting activities, quality of composts as influenced by different composting techniques and mapping of the movement of organic resources for soil fertility improvement.
It was established that composting practices used by the community-based organisations (CBO’s), had an impact on the quality of the composts, which was found to be lower than the recommended international standards. The CBO’s involved regard composting activities as a business enterprise from where their livelihood comes. Low market opportunities (low demand) for their product have hampered their growth and development.. It was also observed that there is an inflow of organic nutrients in the form of animal manure imported into the city from the arid and semi arid livestock producing areas, some of which are as far as 300 km from Nairobi. In contrast, there is a big challenge in the disposal of the same product within the informal settlement areas of the city
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Agbola T. 2001. Turning Municipal Wsate Into Compost: The Case of Ibadan (2001) In: Drechsel P. and Kunze D. (eds) Waste Composting for Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture: Closing the Rural–Urban Nutrient Cycle in Sub-Saharan Africa, 69 pp.
Anderson J.M. and Ingram J.S.I. 1993. Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility. A Handbook of Methods. C.A.B. International. Wallingford, U.K. Bull. No. 9. The Sulphur Institute, Washington, U.S.A.
Armar-Klemesum M. and Maxwell, D. 2000. Urban Agriculture as an Asset Strategy, Supplementing Income and diets.
Etuah-Jackson, Klaassen W.P. and Awuye J.A. 2001. Turning Municipal Waste into Compost: The Case of Accra. In: Drechsel P. and Kunze D. (eds) Waste Composting for Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture: Closing the Rural–Urban Nutrient Cycle in Sub-Saharan Africa. 84 pp.
Foeken D. and Mwangi A. (2000). Increasing Food security through Urban Farming in Nairobi. In Bakker, N., Dubbeling, M., Gundel, S., Sabel-Koschella U. and De Zeeuw h. (eds) Growing Cities, Growing Food. Urban Agriculture on the Policy Agenda.
Gefu J.O. 1992. Part-time farming as an urban survival strategy: a Nigerian case study. In: Baker J. and Pedersen P.O. The rural–urban interface in Africa: expansion and adaptation (Scandinavian Institute of African Studies, Stockholm), pp. 295–302.
Haluna S. 2002. The Contribution of Urban Agriculture to Household Food Security in the Tamala Municipality; B.Sc. Project Report.
Ishani Z., Gathuru P.K. and Lamba D. 2002. Scoping Study of Urban and Peri-Urban Poor Livestock Keepers in Nairobi. Mazingira Institute
ITDG-EA (2003) Nairobi Waste Management Partners Database. www.wastenet.or.ke
Kiongo S. and Amend. J. 1999. Linking (Peri)Urban Agriculture and Organic Waste Management in Dar es Salaam. Paper presented at an International IBSRAM-FAO Workshop on Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture:, Accra, Ghana 2–6 August 1999.
Lee-Smith D., Manundu M., Lamba D. and Gathuru P.K. 1987. Urban Food Production and the Cooking Fuel Situation in Urban Kenya. Mazingira Institute
Lee-Smith D. and Memon P.A. 1994. Urban Agriculture in Kenya. In: Cities feeding People; an examination of urban agriculture in East Africa. International Development Research Centre. Ottawa, Canada. p. 146.
Lekasi J.K., Tanner J.C., Kimani S.K. and Harris P.J.C. 2002. Cattle manure quality in Maragua District, Central Kenya: effect of management practices and development of simple methods of assessment. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 94: 289–298.
Lock K. and De Zeeuw H. 2003. Health and Environmental Risks Associated with Urban Agriculture. A Paper presented in a workshop ‘Health Risks and Benefits of Urban Agriculture and Livestock Farming in Sub-Saharan Africa’ held in June 9–12, 2003 in Nairobi-Kenya.
Mougeot L. 1994. ‘African City Faming from World Perspective’
Mougeot L., Faruqui N., Smith O., Wilson B and Hovorka A. 1998. ‘Programme Initiative – Program Summary 1997–2000’, CFP Report Series 22, IDRC, Ottawa
Mougeot L. 1999. Urban Agriculture: Definition, Presence, Potential and Risks, Main Policy Challenges. Paper presented at an international workshop on Growing Cities Growing Food: Urban Agriculture on the Policy Agenda, La Habana, Cuba October 11–15: 1999
National Research Council (NRC) 1996. Use of Reclaimed Water and Sludge in Food Crop Production. Washington, D.C. National Academy Press.
Nugent R. A. (2000) The Impact of Urban Agriculture on the household and local economies. Paper presented at an International Workshop on Growing Cities Growing Food: Urban Agriculture on the Policy Agenda, La Habana, Cuba October 11–15: 1999
Olufunke C. 2003. Co-composting of Faecal Sludge and Solid Waste for Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture in Kumasi, Ghana
Statistical Analysis Systems (SAS) of SAS Institute inc. 1998. SAS Users Guide, Cary, NC. USA.
UNDP 1996a. Publication Series for Habitat 11 Vol 1
UNDP 1996b. Publication Series for Habitat 11 Vol 11
Walkley A. and Black I.A. 1934. An examination of Degtjareff method for determining soil organic matter and proposed chromic acid titration method. Soil Sci., 37: 29–38.
World Bank. (1997) The Use of Compost in Indonesis: Proposed Compost Quality Standards. Infrastructure Operations, Country Department III, East Asia an Pacific Region, Washington, D.C., U.S.A. June.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2007 Springer
About this paper
Cite this paper
Njenga, M., Kimani, S., Romney, D., Karanja, N. (2007). Nutrient Recovery from Solid Waste and Linkage to Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture in Nairobi, Kenya. In: Bationo, A., Waswa, B., Kihara, J., Kimetu, J. (eds) Advances in Integrated Soil Fertility Management in sub-Saharan Africa: Challenges and Opportunities. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-5760-1_45
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-5760-1_45
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-5759-5
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-5760-1
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)