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Up-scaling Basic Sanitation for the Urban Poor (UBSUP)
Study Among Potential Users of Compost
UBSUP Document 14 (26-05-2012)
Picture 1: Farming in Kanyerete, Kikuyu (2012)
Prepared by the UBSUP Technical Team
October 2012
WSTF/GIZ/UBSUP
Study among Users of Compost
October 2012
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Introduction
On the 22nd and 25th May 2012, we (Doreen Mbalu and Kathrin Brandt) carried out interviews to
analyse people’s perception on the use of organic fertiliser partly made from human excreta and the
current and desired use of fertiliser . This report forms part of the study for the Up-scaling of Basic
Sanitation for the Urban Poor (UBSUP-Kenya) Program.
The main components of the questionnaire that we conducted were to determine the following
factors
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Types of plants grown (subsistence & cash crops).
Current use of fertiliser (organic & chemical).
Challenges in fertiliser supply.
Knowledge of fertiliser partly made from human excreta.
Opinion/ Perception of fertiliser partly made from human excreta.
We interviewed the following types of groups
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Large scale flower farms (2 interviews).
Large scale tea farm (1 interview).
Nurseries (2 interviews).
Small scale farmers (8).
Below you will find the information we gathered from the different interviewees.
WSTF/GIZ/UBSUP
Study among Users of Compost
October 2012
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Interviews and Findings
1. Large scale Flower farms situated in Red Hill Limuru (2 interviews)
Picture 2: Large scale flower farms in Red Hill, Limuru (2012)
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Both use chemical fertiliser (through drip irrigation) for growing the flowers on a large scale
They both export their flowers predominantly to the EU.
They do not face any problems regarding fertiliser supply. Only one mentioned scarcity of
the chemical CAN towards the end of the year.
One of the farmers normally produces his own compost but does not use it personally. He
gives it to the neighbours who have small scale farms. This is because the cuttings are very
sensitive and he does not want any risks of contamination or diseases.
They both said that they cannot comment about the use of human excreta as fertiliser due
to their lack of knowledge.
One of them said that they would consider using fertiliser made out of human excreta only
on non edible crops if it was not so expensive.
The second flower farmer said that he would never consider using it in his farm but he would
understand if other small scale farmers use it due to the high costs of chemical and organic
fertiliser.
One of the farms (Delta flower) informed us that they use the chemicals MAP, TSP, SSP, NPK,
CAN & UREA all during the growing stage. In addition, they have a computer monitoring
system that measures the PH values and amount of hydrogen, also recommending the
amount of fertiliser that should be applied.
For the second flower farm (Terrasol), they use the chemicals KNO3, magnesium sulphide,
potassium sulphate, potassium nitrate, zinc and copper.
WSTF/GIZ/UBSUP
Study among Users of Compost
October 2012
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Picture 3: Compost made from dry flowers (2012)
2. Large scale tea farm in Kiambu (1 interview)
 The large scale tea farm was situated in Kiambu and exported the tea to the EU
(predominantly to the Netherlands).
 Uses chemical fertiliser. Sometimes there are problems with the fertiliser supply because it
is not available at the right moment.
 The manager told us that occasionally they would ‘illegally’ use organic fertiliser made from
animal manure in sections of their farm where the soil was very thin due to high amounts of
chemical fertiliser. Illegal in the sense that the owner never knew that chemical fertiliser was
being used.
 He has livestock and uses the manure at times.
 He never makes his own compost. He would directly pour the manure into the sections of
the farm.
 Chemicals used are NPK and TSP. NPK is used during the growing stage, TSP is used during
planting and growing. NPK costs 1600KSH/ 50Kg and he normally applies 3 bags per acre.
 The manager said that he had heard of fertiliser partly made of human excreta. He said that
he does not have enough information about it. He said that he would use it for non edible
crops due to the fear of sickness.
 He said that we should provide big samples that farmers could test in small sections of their
farms.
 In addition, he asked us for a sample and was impressed that the fertiliser did not look like
faeces.
WSTF/GIZ/UBSUP
Study among Users of Compost
October 2012
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3. Nurseries/ Ornamentals (2 Interviews)
Picture 4: Nursery/ornamental in Kiserian (2012)
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We visited two nurseries, one in Kiserian and one in Karen.
Both grow cash crops that are edible and non edible.
One of them uses chemical fertiliser (DAP & CAN when the plant starts flowering). In
addition organic fertiliser is also used.
They both face problems in the fertiliser supply saying that the organic fertiliser was not
enough and the chemical fertiliser was too expensive.
The farmer who uses only the organic fertiliser mentioned that the cost of transport was
mostly too high. He said that he also buys organic fertiliser from other farmers because he
mentioned that his own organic waste1 was not enough.
One farmer mentioned that he composts his own organic waste combined with collected
organic waste with manure (manure bought).
Both use livestock manure for farming.
One uses the compost for all of his plants and the other does not because he feels that it
was not suitable for all the plants (no specification provided which plants he meant).
Their opinion about the use of organic fertiliser partly made from human excreta is positive.
According to one of the farmers it would be a good idea because everyone has a toilet
therefore there would be no problem with the supply. He would also use it but only on non
edible crops due to fear of sickness. The second farmer does not have an opinion due to lack
of information. However if he knew that there were no risks, he would use it for non edible
crops and vegetables (i.e. for all of his crops).
Organic waste consists of leftover food, fruits & vegetables, meat, poultry, sea food, egg shells, bones, plants & flowers
WSTF/GIZ/UBSUP
Study among Users of Compost
October 2012
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4. Small scale farmers (8 Interviews)
Small scale farmer 1: cereals, vegetables (subsistence & cash crops)
Picture 5: Small scale farmer touching the sample fertiliser made from human excreta (2012)
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He doesn’t use chemical fertiliser. He uses his own organic waste and has no problems in
fertiliser supply.
Uses livestock manure for farming (has cows and goats).
He uses compost made from organic materials and makes his own compost.
Own organic excreta combined with animal dung manure on own heap and turned regularly
(see picture 6).
Picture 6: Compost prepared from animal manure and own organic waste (2012)
WSTF/GIZ/UBSUP
Study among Users of Compost
October 2012
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He uses the compost for all of his crops.
He has heard of fertiliser partly made of human excreta and knows of people who use it and
he also mentioned that they use it for all of their crops.
He mentioned that the fertiliser partly made from human excreta is made in Limuru. He
mentioned, before he saw our sample, that the fertiliser made from human excreta looked
like the one from animal manure.
He said that he would not use the fertiliser partly made from human excreta due to the cost.
He said that if it was not expensive he would use it for vegetables and fruits but mentioning
that he would not use it for all of the crops because it would be too expensive.
Small scale farmer 2 in Red Hill: cereals and tubers (subsistence only)
Picture 7: Small scale farmer in Red Hill (2012)
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No use of chemical fertiliser. She uses her own pig manure and does not have to pay for
organic fertiliser. She also has no issues in fertiliser supply.
She does not use compost made from organic materials.
She makes her own compost (i.e. pig manure) in one heap.
She uses the compost for all of her crops.
She has never heard of organic fertiliser partly made of human excreta.
She has no opinion about organic fertiliser partly made of human excreta due to lack of
information but she would use it for all of her crops if safe.
Small scale farmer 3 in Ngong Kibiko: cereals (subsistence & cash crops) and vegetables and fruit
crops (subsistence)
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He uses the chemical fertiliser DAP just for the cereals during planting.
He faces problems in chemical fertiliser supply stating that it is not enough.
He applied 20kg DAP/acre (0.7 bags per acre) costing 4800-5500 per 50 kg bag.
WSTF/GIZ/UBSUP
Study among Users of Compost
October 2012
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Picture 8: Compost from animal dung manure (2012)
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He has livestock (cows) and uses livestock manure for farming, fuel and selling. He
mentioned that had a lot of manure that he wanted to sell. In addition, the farmer has a
functioning bio digester. The sludge from the bio digester is also used as fertiliser.
He said that he had no use of compost made from other organic materials. He makes his
own compost (only animal dung manure) putting it in one heap.
He does not use his own compost for all of his crops because some are too far away and it is
difficult to transport the compost.
He has heard of fertiliser partly made from human excreta. His opinion is that if it is well
treated, it is not a problem. He would use it for all of his crops.
Picture 9: Sludge from the bio digester (2012)
WSTF/GIZ/UBSUP
Study among Users of Compost
October 2012
9
Small scale farmer 4 in Kikuyu (Muthure): cereals, vegetables and fruit crops (subsitance & cash for
all)
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No use of chemical fertiliser. She uses organic fertiliser i.e. her own pig, goat and chicken
manure for farming.
No compost made from organic materials. She generally does not compost.
Her opinion/ perception of organic fertiliser partly made from human excreta is that she
would only use it if it’s good & safe and she would not get any problems from the
Ministry of Agriculture officials. In addition she does not have enough information about
this fertiliser.
Small scale farmer 5 in Kanyarete Kikuyu
Cereals, (subsistence), vegetable (subsistence & cash crops, tubers (subsistence)
Picture 10: Small scale farmer with 3 green houses in Kikuyu (2012)
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She uses the chemical fertiliser DAP during planting and CAN during growing.
Additionally manure which is mixed with the chemical fertiliser to prevent the soil from
degenerating is used.
She rarely faces problems with fertiliser supply. The main issue is the lack of availability at
the right moment.
Livestock: she only has chicken, however she uses chicken and cow manure for farming.
She uses compost made from organic materials and prepares her own compost.
Own organic waste is composted together with ash and molasses and used for tomatoes. It
is not used for all of her crops because the compost is not enough.
She has never heard of fertiliser partly made from human excreta. She has no opinion about
it therefore no judgment. She would use it if it is safe for all of her crops.
WSTF/GIZ/UBSUP
Study among Users of Compost
October 2012
10
Picture 11: Different types of manure (2012)
Small scale farmer 6 in Bondeni, Ngong
Cereals, tubers for subsistence farming
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He does not use chemical fertiliser and buys organic fertiliser (animal dung manure) from
other farmers i.e. 20 kg/300 KSh.
He faces problems in fertiliser supply and said that it was too expensive and not enough
during rainy seasons. During the rainy season, the animal dung is washed away in the sheds
making it scarce. He does not have livestock but uses livestock manure for farming.
He does not use compost made from organic materials and does not make his own compost.
He has never heard of organic fertiliser partly made from human excreta. His opinion is that
if there is a way that it does not look like faeces then it would be ok. He would use it for all
of his crops if it’s not risky. In addition, he asked us whether he would be able to walk
barefoot in his farm once he has applied the fertiliser partly made from human faeces.
Small scale farmer 7 in Kiserian town
Cereals, vegetable & tubers for subsistence and cash crop farming
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Rarely uses chemical fertiliser, only for onions when plants start flowering (she did not know
the name of the fertiliser).
She has no problems in fertiliser supply.
She does not have livestock but uses cow dung manure for farming.
No use of compost made from organic materials and she is not making her own compost.
She has never heard of fertiliser partly made from human excreta and her opinion is that it
would be absorbed by plants therefore she would not use it.
Small scale farmer 8 in Kiserian town Oloolua, Ngong
Cereals, tubers for subsistence farming
WSTF/GIZ/UBSUP
Study among Users of Compost
October 2012
11
Picture 12: Small scale cereals & tuber farming in Ngong (2012)
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He does not use chemical or organic fertiliser and does not have livestock thus not facing
any problems regarding fertiliser supply.
He never uses compost made from organic materials and does not make his own compost.
His opinion regarding fertiliser partly made from human faeces was nonexistent due to his
lack of knowledge. He would however mention that he would use the fertiliser for cereal but
not stating the reason why.
Preliminary Recommendations
From the information that we gathered, it seemed that large scale flower farmers are not willing to
use organic fertiliser partly made from human excreta. This is due to the EU standards that do not
permit the use of fertiliser partly made from human excreta. In addition, the farmers mentioned to
us their fear of contaminating their flowers which would have a devastating effect on their export.
Their perception of fertiliser partly made from human excreta was positive but they criticised the
lack of information.
Although the manager of the tea farm we interviewed also mentioned that the tea was exported to
the EU, he was willing to try organic fertiliser partly made from human excreta in designated
sections of his farm. However, we are uncertain whether the owner of the farm would agree due to
the before mentioned strict export standards.
Therefore due to the above restrictions, large scale flower farms and tea farms might not be the
ideal target market for the fertiliser that will be produced during the UBSUP Kenya program.
The two interviews we conducted in the nurseries were primarily positive. They would both use the
fertiliser partly made from human excreta. One however mentioned that he would only use it for
non edible crops due to risks of illnesses. It is a good market because they both face problems in
fertiliser supply. The organic fertiliser is not enough and the chemical fertiliser is too expensive.
WSTF/GIZ/UBSUP
Study among Users of Compost
October 2012
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Therefore from the preliminary results above, plant nurseries & ornamentals could be an ideal
target market for the fertiliser that will be produced during the UBSUP Kenya program.
From the 8 interviews that we conducted, all apart from one mentioned that they would be willing
to use fertiliser partly made from human excreta.
The one who declined to use the fertiliser had the perception that the human excreta would be
absorbed by the plant thus contaminating it.
Most of them said that they do not have an opinion due to the lack of information.
We therefore recommend sanitation marketing and creation of public awareness through the
following factors
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More information on the use of fertiliser partly made from human excreta.
Provision of samples so that farmers could first try and evaluate for themselves.
Pictures and Information depicting the benefits of ecological sanitation as a whole and best
practices around the world.
Appropriate training for farmers on the use of organic fertiliser partly made of human waste.
Many were willing to try and were pleasantly surprised that the sample fertiliser does not look like
human excreta.
Therefore from the preliminary results above and through appropriate public awareness and
sanitation marketing small scale farmers are an ideal target market for the fertiliser that will be
produced during the UBSUP Kenya programme.
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WSTF/GIZ/UBSUP
Study among Users of Compost
October 2012