It is a bright hot sunny day and Moses Shonga is taking a walk in his maize field singing. He looks around at the beautiful scenery of evergreen fertilizer trees on his four-acre land and is happy with the progress.

“The soils in this region lost their fertility decades ago. However, planting fertilizer trees have restored fertility in my maize field. I no longer depend on the government’s fertilizer subsidy Program,” says Shonga. The subsidy Program Shonga is talking about is a large scale national program called Farm Input Subsidy Program (FISP) that subsidizes agricultural inputs, mainly fertilizers and seeds for maize production. The Program was introduced by the Malawi Government in 2005.

Climate change has exacerbated the soil infertility problem for smallholder farmers due to erratic and unreliable rains, extreme temperatures and drought. A million-dollar question to this environmental challenge is; ‘Will the application of chemical fertilizer improve crop productivity and remain a sustainable solution for Malawi’s infertile soils?’

Shonga’s experience provides a practical and sustainable way of nurturing and improving soil fertility. He believes that the use of fertilizer trees in a maize cropping system is a possible solution to improving soil fertility and crop productivity.

In 2008, Shonga planted Gliricidia and Tephrosia fertilizer trees in his maize field in order to improve soil fertility and to combat the effects of climate change.

In 2008, through the Agroforestry Food Security Program (AFSP) which is implemented by the World Agroforestry Centre and its partners with support from Irish Aid and Flanders International Cooperating Agency (FICA), Shonga and other farmers in Mzimba planted fertilizer trees on their farms.

“I began practicing conservation agriculture with trees. This practice ensures adequate soil cover in my field in order to retain moisture, such that when there is a dry spell my crops are not affected,” Shonga explained.

Conservation agriculture with trees (CAWT) is a farming practice that integrates trees with annual crops with the aim of maintaining a green cover throughout the year on the farm. It also helps in nutrient recycling and maintenance of soil organic matter.

Currently a 50kg bag of fertilizer costs approximately $45. This is too expensive for most farmers, especially those who are not guaranteed FISP inputs. Because of this uncertainty in accessing chemical fertilizer, Shonga adopted the technology of fertilizer trees as an innovative way of replenishing soil fertility on his farm.

Previously, Shonga used four bags of fertilizer, two of which were from FISP. Planting fertilizer trees helped him reduce use of chemical fertilizers by half.

“In 2013, I graduated from FISP. I reduced the number of fertilizer bags I purchased from four to two. This reduction has become possible because fertilizer trees have restored the soil fertility,” Shonga explained, adding that in the coming years he will not need to use inorganic fertilizers.

Shonga adds that fertilizer trees have made him food secure. He is now able to support his family by paying school fees and buying household needs through selling surplus maize. His plan is to sell fertilizer tree seeds to other farmers in his area who have expressed interest in CAWT.

Bruce Sosola, AFSP Program Manager at World Agroforestry Centre in Malawi, said AFSP is promoting use of fertilizer trees in maize fields as it is a sustainable way of improving soil fertility in most smallholder farmer systems.

“Chemical fertilizers alone cannot solve soil infertility in Malawi as they don’t replenish soil organic matter

Research done in Malawi shows that integration of fertilizer trees in a maize cropping system improves the soil organic matter and enhances the nutrient use efficiency. This soil improvement substantially reduces the recommended dosage of nitrogen chemical fertilizer applied in farmers’ fields by half,” Sosola explained.

Sosola added that the World Agroforestry Centre is also facilitating the training of 40,000 farmers on how they can grow and manage fertilizer trees on farms in all AFSP implementing districts of Mzimba, Kasungu, Dedza and Thyolo.

Mirriam Nkhoma, the Agricultural Extension Development Coordinator (AEDC) in Mzimba district at Zombwe Extension Planning Area, said farmers in her area are now adopting fertilizer trees because their potential to solve soil infertility has been demonstrated.

Research findings by the World Agroforestry Centre in Malawi show that farmers who use fertilizer trees are better off because they build long term soil fertility capital and can be food secure with half the recommended fertilizer dosage. If integrated in FISP, fertilizer tree technology can create synergies with Malawi’s ongoing fertilizer subsidies and sustainably reduce the import bill on fertilizer.

Mr. Shonga has inspired other 45 farmers to plant fertilizer trees and incorporate crop residues in maize fields in order to maximize soil cover and improve soil fertility to combat the effects of climate change.

The story of Shonga, a lead farmer from the Traditional Authority (an administrative unit) Mtwalo in Kenani Shonga village in Mzimba District who has graduated from FISP, is not only unique, but has roused debate among policy makers and donors as an exit strategy from FISP. His success story has the potential to influence policy changes that would ensure that FISP beneficiaries are also provided with fertilizer tree seeds of Gliricidia and Tephrosia as one way for farmers to graduate from FISP.

Every year about 1.5 million poor smallholder farming households in Malawi rely on government-subsidized fertilizer for food production. Due to limited alternative input subsidy exit strategies the government has maintained FISP over the years since inception of the programme in 2005.