Zambia Agribusiness Society

Livestock farming is an investment which most of us venture in because we have seen and heard how successful other farmers are doing. I have seen and heard of many prospective farmers who have obtained loans to start livestock enterprises but have ended up defaulting on loan payments because it turned out not to be what they expected. All businesses look excellent on paper, and numbers are very attractive for people to invest. However, this does not mean that things are all rosy in livestock farming business. Like any business, livestock farming has risks, which must be considered when conducting an investment appraisal of respective livestock enterprises. Testimonies from livestock farmers, especially on social media platforms, mostly show the good side of livestock farming and rarely mention the risks, challenges or difficulties involved. Livestock farming is a business, and it must be treated likewise with proper planning, cash flow projections, risk assessment and mitigation. Bus...

Basic knowledge about compost making It is very important for you to know how to make your very own compost . Understanding basics about composting will help you so much. Read on and know more! One thing you should know is that any crop needs nutrients to grow, even trees. And compost manure can be used for any crop. The word fertilizer means food for a crop. It’s not only limited to chemical fertilizer like D compound and Urea. To know how to make your own compost in organic farming is mandatory because it will cut the cost of buying fertilizers even organic, and improve and build your soil for life. One thing you should know is that there are so many ways of making compost, ranging from heap compost , trench compost , pile compost , open air compost . There are also different durations for each compost to be ready. The duration for the compost to be ready is determined by Carbon and Nitrogen ratios. You may be wondering the benefits of compost. I will list a few: Com...

In order to be a successful goat farmer, there are basics you must consider or know before you start a goat farm. These include but not limited to the following: 1. Location : The most important consideration you must first make is location. Common goats generally survive in warm areas that are well drained. Apart from temperature, space is necessary. Goats live in groups, so individual pens are not effective. A large field is needed if you want your animals to roam freely. Freely roaming goats usually have better resistance to sickness and infection. The best locations for a goat farm are those that are far from towns because urban pollution is dangerous to animal health. Goats are known to eat a lot of grass on a daily basis. So make sure their food source is highly accessible and not too far from the rearing area. 2. Land Requirement : Goats can be reared intensively on small acreage by using supplemental feed. If using an extensive system, 2 to 10 goats per acre is a rough guide de...

1. Land Preparation Site Selection : Choose a place that has fertile soil. Loam soil is the most favourable. Your field should be able to receive full sunlight (do not plant under a shade); okra doesn't tolerate too much water, therefore avoid waterlogged places. Prepare your soil by ploughing and harrowing. Ensure you clear the boundaries of your field to avoid weeds from growing into the cleared field. Depending on the season you can plant your seed on ridges or basins. Ridges: This is most favourable during rainy season to avoid excessive moisture from the ground. Too much water is a breeding ground for most of the fungal infections that affect the plants. Too much water will wash away nutrients in your soil hence starve the plant causing it to underperform. Basins: (20cm deep x 30cm wide) This is most favourable during dry/hot season. The basin can be filled with decomposed manure (2 - 3kg) and watered regularly to mix with the soil before planting. The basi...

Once again I am posting this article to help farmers who are into free-range/ indigenous/ village chicken farming . Misuse of antibiotics among poultry farmers is rampant and this is dangerous to both animals and human beings. Misuse of antibiotics leads to antibiotic resistance. The residues of antibiotics are left in animal products like eggs, poultry meat and milk. Fasten your seat belt and travel with me to the school of poultry studies. This lesson is for free; you won't find such a simplified article for free. We normally use food and spices in our day to day lives, but have you ever known that these foods are a cure to various ailments in your poultry flock? Ginger, pepper, garlic, aloe vera and yoghurt are just among the various foods and spices that are medicinal in nature. Farmers practising organic farming will understand this better. These natural remedies should be used alongside conventional drugs and vaccines, but try as much as possible to include biosecurity me...

The domestic guinea fowl (Numida meliagris) is a poultry bird that derives its name from the guinea coast of West Africa where it originated. Many poultry farmers in Africa are doing Guinea Fowl farming business successfully, mainly for profit. The Guineas are also sometimes called Guineas , Pintades or Gleanies . The commonest variety of guinea fowl is the Peal helmeted guinea fowl. On the contrary, guinea fowl production has proven to be commercially viable and is raised in large numbers in Europe and the United States of America where it has been successfully commercialized. In India, these birds are raised as free range scavenging birds in rural areas. Guinea fowls are easier to manage by resource poor farmers with hardly any access to formal veterinary services because they are resistant to most poultry diseases at the adult stage. Housing is rudimentary and health management practices depend, largely, on ethno-veterinary medicine . Guinea fowl , often referred to as guineas,...