Zambia Agribusiness Society

Rats are dangerous animals in the poultry house and they cause problems both direct and indirect. Direct - they eat chicks or kill chicks rapidly. Indirect - they carry many diseases that affect chicks. Therefore, their presence in the poultry house is a big risk. However, it is a bit hard to control rats in the poultry house because most of the chemicals that kill rats are harmful to our birds. Nevertheless, today we shall break the secret on how to kill rats using safe methods. Remember I am an organic poultry farmer and I promote organic methods all the time. So now, let us see how to solve this rat issue. Organic method of getting rid of rats on farms and at home: Mix baking soda + flour + sugar at equal ratios 1:1:1. Mix thoroughly dry. Put them in small containers and place them at the corners of your poultry house. They will eat it and never return to disturb you again. If you have a small bowl of that size, you can also use it. Rats love flour and so will golf it. Secondly, t

Sweet potatoes are generally an easy crop to farm due to their low capital intensity and applicability on small tracts of land. There are two broad categories of sweet potatoes which are as follows: 1.     The staple type with white flesh and white or purple skin with a high starch and dry matter content. 2.     The desert flesh and orange skin with a high sugar and beta-carotene content. Commonly three distinct types of sweet potatoes are available for commercial production: 1.     Orange/copper skin with orange flesh e.g. Beauregard, Hernandez, Beerwah Gold, NC-3, LO-323, Centennial, Darby and Jewel. Zimbabwean orange cultivators such as Beauregard have long, cylindrical to heavy elliptic tubers. They have high beta-carotene content and are fairly quick growers. It may become too big with long growing period. 2.     White/cream skin with white/cream flesh colour, has a high yield and a good storage life. It can produce good yield in a relatively short growing period (4 months

When you think of backyard farming, most likely, you think of tomatoes, onions or maybe even carrots but with the same ease, you could plant peas and enjoy a good harvest without too much farming expertise. Pea is an important nutritious leguminous vegetable that is widely cultivated throughout the world. It is a cool-season, frost-hardy, crop extensively grown in temperate zones but also restricted to cooler altitudes in the tropics and winter seasons in the subtropics. It is a rich source of proteins, amino acids, sugars, carbohydrate, vitamins A and C, calcium and phosphorous, and also has a small quantity of iron. 1. Climatic Requirements Peas are grown under various weather conditions. They require a cold and dry climate. The long cold spell helps in increasing yield. Pea seed can germinate even at a minimum temperature of 5 o C but the process is slow. The optimum temperature for germination is about 22 o C but at higher temperatures, germination is rapid. The optimum tempera

Poultry farming is a business that gives enough meat and eggs for daily consumption. It entails raising varied domestic birds like ducks, turkey, geese, chicken, etc. In Nigeria, poultry farming is one of the most lucrative business endeavours to pursue. It does not require huge capital to start, and you can easily kick off your poultry farm at the comfort of your home. In the course of this article, we would look at how much it can cost to start a poultry farm in Nigeria. We would also see some of the requirements that should be put in place before you start a poultry farm. How much does it cost to start a poultry farm in Nigeria? Poultry farming is a capital intensive business. The cost of starting a poultry farm in Nigeria largely depends on the size of your birds. If you are farming over a hundred to one thousand birds, then you would need capital in the range of ₦250 000 to ₦2.5 million respectively for layers, and ₦150 000 to ₦1.5 million respectively for broilers. In a good seas