Farmers’ Practices and Perceptions of Ruminant Urine Use as an Organic Fertilizer for Sunflower Production in Mixed Crop Livestock Systems
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14738/dafs.1404.12017Keywords:
Agroecological practices, Climate-resilient farming, Novel fertilizer, Soil health, Sustainable agricultureAbstract
Sustainable nutrient management in smallholder farming systems requires low-cost, locally available fertilizers to enhance crop productivity while maintaining ecological balance. Sunflower production in mixed livestock–crop systems in Tanzania faces challenges related to high input costs and limited awareness of organic alternatives. This study assessed farmers’ practices and perceptions regarding the use of ruminant urine as a fertilizer for sunflower. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in September to November 2025 across four villages in Morogoro, involving 311 purposively selected farmers engaged in organic sunflower cultivation. Quantitative data were collected using structured questionnaires and analyzed with descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, Cramer’s V, and binary logistic regression to identify determinants of adoption. Qualitative data from focus group discussions and key informant interviews were analyzed thematically to interpret local knowledge and socio-cultural influences. Results indicated that adoption of ruminant urine varied widely, with Mikese exhibiting the highest usage (70.8%), moderate uptake in Vianzi (25.0%) and Kimambila (25.8%), and minimal use in Mafuru (1.1%). Regression analysis identified village of residence, awareness of urine as fertilizer, and livestock ownership—particularly goats—as significant predictors of adoption. Farmers applied urine primarily to sunflower and maize, with collection and storage constrained by livestock management and infrastructure. FGDs and KIIs revealed that experiential knowledge, peer exchange, and demonstration plots influenced acceptance, while limited formal training restricted wider adoption. These findings suggest potential for integrating ruminant urine into nutrient management strategies, especially in villages with zero- or semi-zero-grazing systems, and strengthen resilience in mixed crop–livestock systems.
References
Ahmed, M. G., Elwakeel, E. A., El-Zarkouny, S. Z., & Al-Sagheer, A. A. (2024). Environmental impact of phytobiotic additives on greenhouse gas reduction. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 31, 37943–37962. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-33664-5
Bao, Y., Zhou, K., & Zhao, G. (2018). Nitrous oxide emissions from beef cattle urine regulated by diet. Journal of Animal Science, 96, 3699–3711. https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/sky252
Chadwick, D., Sommer, S., Thorman, R., Fangueiro, D., Cardenas, L., Amon, B., & Misselbrook, T. (2011). Manure management: Implications for greenhouse gas emissions. Animal Feed Science and Technology, 166–167, 514–531. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2011.04.036 Scholar Publishing
Chávez-Fuentes, J. J., Capobianco, A., Barbušová, J., & Hutňan, M. (2017). Manure from our agricultural animals: A quantitative and qualitative analysis focused on biogas production. Waste and Biomass Valorization, 8, 1749–1757. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12649-017-9970-5
Coelho, L. d. M., Brito, L. d. F., Messana, J. D., Carvalho, G. M., Carlos, R. S., Malheiros, E. B., & Berchielli, T. T. (2022). Emissions from manure of feedlot-finished cattle. Scientific Reports, 12, Article 9166. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-13100-9
de Klein, C. A., Luo, J., Woodward, K. B., Styles, T., Wise, B., Lindsey, S., & Cox, N. (2014). Effect of nitrogen concentration in synthetic cattle urine on nitrous oxide emissions. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 188, 85–92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2014.02.020
de Klein, C. A., Sherlock, R. R., Cameron, K. C., & van der Weerden, T. J. (2001). Nitrous oxide emissions from agricultural soils in New Zealand. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, 31, 543–574. https://doi.org/10.1080/03014223.2001.9517667
Dietz, M., Machill, S., Hoffmann, H. C., & Schmidtke, K. (2013). Inhibitory effects of Plantago lanceolata on soil nitrogen mineralization. Plant and Soil, 368, 445–458. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-012-1524-9
Eisler, M. C., Lee, M. R., Tarlton, J. F., Martin, G. B., Beddington, J., Dungait, J. A., Greathead, H., Liu, J., Mathew, S., Misselbrook, T., Murray, P., Vinod, V. K., Van Saun, R., & Winter, M. (2014). Agriculture: Steps to sustainable livestock. Nature, 507, 32–34. https://doi.org/10.1038/507032a
Giamouri, E., Zisis, F., Mitsiopoulou, C., Christodoulou, C., Pappas, A. C., Simitzis, P. E., & Tsiplakou, E. (2023). Sustainable strategies for greenhouse gas emission reduction in small ruminant farming. Sustainability, 15, Article 4118. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15054118
Hao, X., Mir, P. S., Shah, M. A., & Travis, G. R. (2005). Influence of canola and sunflower diet amendments on feedlot manure. Journal of Environmental Quality, 34, 1439–1445. https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq2004.0455
IPCC. (2022). Climate change 2022: Mitigation of climate change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press.
Irshad, M., Eneji, A. E., Hussain, Z., & Ashraf, M. (2013). Chemical characterization of fresh and composted livestock manures. Journal of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, 13, 115–121. https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-95162013005000011
Liu, H., & Zhou, D. (2014). Mitigation of ammonia and nitrous oxide emissions from sheep urinetreated pasture. Animal Feed Science and Technology, 192, 39–47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2014.03.006
Lombardi, B., Alvarado, P. I., Ricci, P., Guzmán, S. A., Gonda, H. L., & Juliarena, M. P. (2021). Methane and nitrous oxide emissions from dung patches of grazing cattle. Animal Feed Science and Technology, 279, Article 115029. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2021.115029
Luo, J., Balvert, S., Wise, B., Welten, B., Ledgard, S., de Klein, C., & Judge, A. (2018). Alternative forage species to reduce N₂O emissions. Science of the Total Environment, 610–611, 1271–1280. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.08.186
Luo, J., Sun, X. Z., Pacheco, D., Ledgard, S. F., Lindsey, S. B., Hoogendoorn, C. J., & Watkins, N. L. (2015). Nitrous oxide emission factors for sheep urine and dung. Animal, 9, 534–543. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1751731114002742
Scholar Publishing Mukasa, D., Rusinamhodzi, L., van Asten, P. J. A., Amwonya, D., Sseguya, H., Okiror, F. A., & Jassogne, L. (2025). Adoption of climate-smart practices in coffee systems. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, 23, Article 2513790. https://doi.org/10.1080/14735903.2025.2513790
Ni, J. Q., Heber, A. J., Lim, T. T., Tao, P. C., & Schmidt, A. M. (2008). Methane and carbon dioxide emission from pig finishing barns. Journal of Environmental Quality, 37, 2001–2011. https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq2007.0386
Petersen, S. O., Blanchard, M., Chadwick, D., Del Prado, A., Edouard, N., Mosquera, J., & Sommer, S. G. (2013). Manure management for greenhouse gas mitigation. Animal, 7, 266–282. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1751731113000736
Pulina, G., Francesconi, A. H. D., Stefanon, B., Sevi, A., Calamari, L., Lacetera, N., & Ronchi, B. (2017). Sustainable ruminant production to help feed the planet. Italian Journal of Animal Science, 16, 140–171. https://doi.org/10.1080/1828051X.2016.1260500
Ravishankara, A. R., Daniel, J. S., & Portmann, R. W. (2009). Nitrous oxide (N₂O): The dominant ozone-depleting substance emitted in the 21st century. Science, 326, 123–125. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1176985
Santoso, B., Kilmaskossu, A., & Sambodo, P. (2007). Effects of saponin on ruminal fermentation in goats. Animal Feed Science and Technology, 137, 58–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2006.10.005
Shio, E. W., Kilasi, N. L., & Nassary, E. K. (2025). Sunflower growth and yield responses to variety selection and fertiliser management in semi-arid areas of Tanzania. East African Journal of Agriculture and Biotechnology, 8(2), 544-568. https://doi.org/ 10.37284/eajab.8.2.4235.
Smith, P., Martino, D., Cai, Z., Gwary, D., Janzen, H., Kumar, P., & Wattenbach, M. (2007). Agriculture. In Climate change 2007: Mitigation of climate change (pp. 497–540). Cambridge University Press.
Sommer, S. G., Petersen, S. O., Sørensen, P., Poulsen, H. D., & Møller, H. B. (2007). Methane and carbon dioxide emissions during liquid manure storage. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 78, 27–36. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-006-9072-4
Stewart, E. K., Beauchemin, K. A., Dai, X., MacAdam, J. W., Christensen, R. G., & Villalba, J. J. (2019). Effect of tannin-containing hays on methane emissions. Journal of Animal Science, 97, 3286–3299. https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skz206
Symeon, G. K., Akamati, K., Dotas, V., Karatosidi, D., Bizelis, I., & Laliotis, G. P. (2025). Manure management as a potential mitigation tool to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions in livestock systems. Sustainability, 17, Article 586. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17020586
Totty, V., Greenwood, S., Bryant, R., & Edwards, G. (2013). Nitrogen partitioning and milk production of grazing dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science, 96, 141–149. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2012-5504
Wattiaux, M., Uddin, M., Letelier, P., Jackson, R., & Larson, R. (2019). Emission and mitigation of greenhouse gases from dairy farms. Applied Animal Science, 35, 238–254. https://doi.org/10.15232/aas.2018-01803
Wu, P., Liu, Z., He, W., Yu, S., Gao, G., & Wang, J. (2018). Intermittent feeding of citrus essential oils to decrease methane production. Journal of Cleaner Production, 194, 704–713. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.05.167
Yu, H., Waqas, M., Waqar, M., Rahman, A., Kazdal, S., Sajjad, N., & Nawaz, S. (2025). Sustainable poultry farming and greenhouse gas mitigation. World’s Poultry Science Journal, 81, 1081–1141. https://doi.org/10.1080/00439339.2025.2544772
Scholar Publishing Zhao, Y., Liu, M., Jiang, L., & Guan, L. (2023). Natural phytochemicals and nitrogen excretion in ruminants. Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology, 14, Article 140. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40104-023-00942-0
Zhou, K., Bao, Y., & Zhao, G. (2019). Effects of dietary crude protein and tannic acid on nitrogen excretion and urine N₂O emissions. Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition, 103, 1675–1683. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpn.13186
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Mustapha Daniel Yohana, Eliakira Kisetu Nassary, Mawazo Jamson Shitindi, Nuru Nassoro Kipato
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
