Zambia Agribusiness Society

General Production: ·          Dry beans does well in warm seasons of the year. Optimum temperatures for growing are 15ºC to 27ºC. ·          Popular varieties are: Carioca, A197, Solwezi Rose, Kabulangeti , Pan 148, Pan 159, Primeira and Bounty. ·          Maturity period differs between different varieties but in the range of 85 to 120 days. ·          A well-managed beans crop should yield 500 to 750kg per Lima. ·          Beans should be harvested when leaves turn yellow. This is best done in the morning as beans tends to shatter. Land Preparation/Soil Type: ·        Loamy to loamy clayish soils with a pH range from 5.5 to 6 is ideal. ·        Effective rooting depth is 60cm. ·        Plough and harrow to a 60cm fine tilth seedbed. Planting and Transplanting: ·        Sow directly 3cm deep at seed rates of 12.5kg seed per Lima. The best time to plant dry beans is first week of January when effective rainfall starts. ·        Space the plants at 10cm between

General Production: •       Green Beans do well in warm seasons of the year. Optimum temperatures for growing are 15ºC to 27ºC. •       Popular varieties are Contender, Espada, Provider and Wintergreen. •       A well-managed Green beans crop should yield 2 tons per Lima. Land Preparation/Soil Type: •       Deep well drained loamy soils will a pH range from 5.5 to 6 is ideal. •       Effective rooting depth is 60cm. •       Plough and harrow to a 60cm fine tilth seedbed. Planting and Transplanting: •       Sow directly 3 to 4cm deep at seed rates of 15 to 25kg seed per Lima with 1 seed/station. •       Space the plants at 5cm between plants and 60cm between rows to give a plant population of 330,000 plants/hectare. Fertilizer Programme: •       At planting apply Veg Mix A 30gm/m 2 (19kg/lima) - Broadcasted. •       21 days from planting top dress using Veg Top 24 10gm/m 2 (19kg/Lima) - Broadcasted. •       35 days from planting top dress using Veg Top 24 10

General Production: •       Chilli does well in warm seasons of the year. Optimum temperatures for growing are 20ºC to 30ºC. •       Popular Chilli varieties are Long Red Cayenne, Long Slim Cayenne, Serrano, Spitfire and Thai Chilli. •       A well-managed Chilli crop should yield 2.5tons Green or 750kg Dry per Lima. Harvest may extend for several months but is generally discontinued after 2 months when bulk of the crop has been picked. Land Preparation/Soil Type: •       Deep well drained loamy soils with a pH range of 4.5 to 5.5 is ideal. •       Effective rooting depth is 60cm. •       Plough and harrow to a 60cm fine tilth seedbed. Planting and Transplanting: •       Sow directly by drilling in the farrows 1 to 2cm deep or raise seedlings in nursery beds and transplant 6 to 8 weeks later. •       Transplant during the cool part of the day (early morning or late afternoon) to avoid wilting of the plants. •       Space the plants at 30cm between plants and 75cm between rows to give a

General Production: ·          Cassava is a tropical and subtropical crop grown for the root part and in some cases for young leaves. ·          Popular sweet varieties are: Tanganyika and Kapumba. ·          Popular bitter varieties are: Mweru, Chila, Kapolombo and Bangweulu. ·          A well-managed Cassava crop will yield 5.5 to 9 tons per Lima. ·          Recommended time of planting mid-November to mid-December. Land Preparation/Soil Type: ·          Deep loose well drained loamy soils with a pH range from 4.5 to 7.5 is ideal. ·          Effective rooting depth is 100cm to 150cm. Deep plough field and harrow. ·          500kg of dolomitic lime must be applied 30-60 days prior to planting and harrowed in to the soil to make ridges where Cassava cuttings will be planted. Planting: ·          Plant the 20 to 50cm cuttings vertically inclined or horizontally at 60cm between plants and 100cm between ridges/rows to give a plant population of 10,000 plants/hectare. Fertilizer Programme:

A fish farm or fish based business could easily generate a good amount of money. Even if you are not a traditional fish farmer, you could easily make a steady income from your home, using aquaculture fish farming techniques. Fish is increasingly becoming popular as a source of protein, and it could easily feed a small family with very little cost or overheads. There are also other benefits of fish farming. You could use the waste from your kitchen to feed your fish, and if you have a kitchen garden, you could also use the waste from your fish as fertilizer for your kitchen garden. Starting Your Own Business Starting any kind of business needs knowledge and experience in the related field. If you are new to the fishing business, it might be a good idea to start small and gather experience as you progress. Managing a business requires many of the administrative skills, be it fish farming or any other business. It also means that you will not have a boss to give you directions and you

Do you know the reason why some of your day old chicks die in their first week, and why you keep buying drugs unnecessarily? Is because you lack the skills needed in raising and brooding day old chicks. Is your poultry house protecting your chicks from cold, rain, wind and too much heat during brooding? Do you give your chicks enough space for their feeding, drinking and eating during brooding? If you really want to achieve zero or no mortality during brooding your chicks you need to put in a lot of work to give out the best housing to your chicks. Brooding can be classified into natural and artificial brooding. It is also a place of safety where baby chicks are kept warm, fed, watered and cared for until they are able to care for themselves. Equipment used for artificial brooding are called brooders. •       Electricity through brooder lamps. •       Charcoal through coal pots and brooder pots. •       Kerosene through kerosene lamps. •       Gas through gas brooders

How do you get the most eggs from your chickens? It may sound like a difficult question but if you have kept chickens before you already know the answer – you treat her like a queen! To get your chickens to lay lots of eggs, there are several things you need to do. Some of these things will be obvious to you, others perhaps a little more obscure, but they are all important to your flock. Below we share with you 9 natural ways to make chickens lay more eggs… 1. Access to clean water: They need clean, fresh water every day to support their bodily needs. I know, you see them drinking from muddy puddles and ditches but they really should have clean water. That murky water you see them drinking may contain parasites and bacteria that can make them sick. If hens become dehydrated they will not lay eggs and it will take them a few days to start laying again. 2. Reducing stress Chickens can get stressed by small and inconsequential things such as a change of feed, loud noises