ACACIA, SECRET TO IMPROVED SOILS FERTILITY AND OPTIMUM PRODUCTION

“I will never use any chemicals in agricultural production again.” Says Kedni Joseph, a forest farmer. Most farmers have experienced massive production and returns in the Forest Gardens Project with their farms, crops and animals doing extremely well. Most farmers have been smiling from molars to premolars after finding the secret to improved soil fertility and optimum production.

Kedni Joseph, is an experienced forest garden farmer based in Bana, Haut-Nkam testifies that his secret all along to optimum production and fertile soils is acacia.  Generally, acacia is a small tree or shrub belonging to the genus Acacia, of the mimosa family. They are nitrogen-fixing trees that are very good for improving or boosting soil fertility.

 Kedni Joseph a farmer with over 5 hectares with diverse food crops, economic fruit trees such as plums, avocados and medicinal trees like neem, prunus, others like sesbania, robusta, and many other. In addition, he has a water reserve where he uses for his crops during periods of no rains. At some sections of his forest gardens, he has a piggery, sheep, and other section with vegetables and pepper cultivated in about 0.25ha.  He was introduced in the Agroforestry project by ERuDeF, several years ago which is today known as the Forest Garden Program.  Joseph says before the soils were not fertile. When he introduced the alley cropping system where he planted mostly acacia in alleys, he noticed improvement. As years passed by the soils became more fertile thus his crops were doing so well. He decided that it will be his new manure. Today he has over hundreds of thousands of acacia trees in his forest garden. “I cultivate pepper, vegetables only with the use of acacia leaves as my own organic matter,” added Joseph. He also says that the leaves are fodder to his sheep and pigs.

Kedni Joseph is soliciting help to have good market. He produces crops and mostly pepper in a very large scale but his turn over is not so encouraging because he sells at very low prices to local traders. He also faces transportation challenges, as he is located several kilometers away from town. Kedni Joseph is so grateful to ERuDeF for their technical training and TREES for the support that has changed his life.