Zambia Agribusiness Society

Years ago, sorghum was one of the most important food crops in Africa, but over the years, farmers have abandoned it in favour of maize. However, what farmers do not know is that sorghum has many advantages over maize and other pasture grasses. To begin with, it can grow well in both high and low potential areas where maize cannot do well. As a fodder crop, it can be used in place of maize for making silage and grain and even as a fresh chopped forage for various animals, including cows, goats, sheep, pigs and chickens. As animal feed, it has the same energy level as maize or any other cereal. Due to its higher sugar content, sorghum can do better than maize when it comes to silage making because farmers do not need to add molasses as they do when making silage. Sorghum can withstand dry conditions (600mm annual rainfall) and remain green at very low moisture level, thus, providing farmers with adequate feeds when maize and other feed sources fail. Sorghum can still do well ...

Aflatoxin, like foot-and-mouth disease, hinders the export of African products and agricultural produce to lucrative European, US and rich Asian markets. Often the communities have little knowledge of the existence of such problems and their socio-economic impact. In general, the communities do not have solutions to the problems caused by these diseases, as they do not fully understand them. Aflatoxin is known in chemistry science as a mycotoxin that, thus a micro dangerous chemical substance produced as a secondary metabolites by Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus fungi. These fungi are widely studied due to their effect on humans and animals, as well as the economic implications thereof (Galvez et al, 2003; Chinnan & Resurreccion, 2013; Kaaya, 2014). Economic impact of aflatoxin contamination in groundnuts production Aflatoxin has been identified as the major problem in groundnuts trade for African countries who are losing about $760 million annually due to cont...

Some figures may vary from place to place so don't mock me. Can you do a successful indigenous chicken business anywhere in Africa? The answer is yes. Can you reap profits from it? Of course you can? Is it complicated? Not at all but you need enough capital to start it. First things first. Most farmers fail in this sector because they fail to plan. If you fail to plan then you are planning to fail. Do you know where farmers fail most? They start their projects without the end in mind. Today I will describe how you can rear 1200 indigenous/ village/ kienyeji chickens in a year successfully without a headache. With this method you can be churning out 200 birds every month for sale and laugh all the way to the bank. The first thing is that you should have a plan. As you know broiler farmers plan for their batch of birds every 6 weeks, pig farmers every 5 months, beef farmers every 2 years, rabbit farmers every 4 - 5 months. Indigenous chicken are ready for meat at about 6 months and a...

Layer poultry farming means raising egg laying poultry birds for the purpose of commercial egg production. Layer chickens are such a special species of hens, which need to be raised from when they are one day old. They start laying eggs commercially from 18-19 weeks of age. They remain laying eggs continuously till their 72-78 weeks of age. They can produce about one kg of eggs by consuming about 2.25kg of food during their egg laying period. For the purpose of producing hybrid eggs layer, consider the various characteristics of cock and hen before breeding. There are various types of highly egg productive layer breeds available throughout the world. Layer Breeds: According to the nature and colour of egg, layer hens are of two types. Short description of these two types are listed below. White Egg Laying Hens: This type of hens are comparatively smaller in size. Relatively eat less food, and the colour of egg shell is white. Isa White, Lehman White, Nikchik, Bab Cock BV-300, H...

Coccidiosis can be treated organically using some proven natural materials at a particular rate of application. Coccidiosis in poultry is an acute poultry disease that renders farmers helpless. This disease can ravage a large flock of chickens within a few days of infection. As an organic farmer, you have two ways of treating this disease without using synthetic drugs: Proper litter or bedding management Use of herbal medications Proper litter management is one of the organic ways of controlling coccidiosis in poultry. Although, it is one of the ways of preventing coccidiosis in poultry; this method can also be termed organic treatment of coccidiosis because it involves no use of coccidiosis drugs; it is just a method that makes the immediate environment of the birds unfit for the survival of the pathogen causing coccidiosis disease. Causes of Coccidiosis in Poultry It is very imperative you know the causes of coccidiosis before finding ways to prevent it. Knowing t...

Silage and hay are preserved feeds that come in handy for dairy cows during periods of scarcity of green forage. The process of making silage involves fermentation under anaerobic conditions. It prevents fresh fodder from decomposing and allows it to keep its nutrient quality. It requires sufficient soluble carbohydrates (sugars) for organic acid production. Adding molasses to the fodder is recommended since it is rich in sugar, which enables the bacteria to produce the organic acids immediately. The more molasses you add, the faster the acidification and preservation process will occur. Why feed your cows on silage? Silage ensures high milk production and healthy dairy animals, especially during dry seasons. It is palatable, laxative, digestible, and nutritious and requires less floor area for storage than hay. Silage preparation Silage is produced through use of pits or trenches, towers and sacks for small quantities. However, pits are mostly used to prepare silage for la...

Copper is a heavy metal element which has very important functions in the cow’s body. These include building immunity, growth and reproduction. Copper gets into the body mainly through the food the animals eat and the water they drink. Feeds from some areas have low copper content. Their intake results in what is called primary or absolute copper deficiency. In some cases certain elements in the feed, if present in high concentrations, may interfere with availability of copper to the body. The elements may form fairly stable complexes with copper and prevent usage of the mineral by the body. This is termed as secondary copper deficiency because the levels of copper in the blood may be normal but the mineral itself available for use by the body is below average. Some of the elements that reduce copper availability to the body are Iron, Zinc, Molybdenum and Sulphates. The treatment I prescribed for Greg’s cattle is called symptomatic because I based the diagnosis on the ...