Zambia Agribusiness Society

To grow healthy crops full of nutrients, farmers need to ensure they have healthy soil. Without fertilizers, nature struggles to replenish the nutrients in the soil. When crops are harvested, important nutrients are removed from the soil, because they follow the crop and end up at the dinner table. If the soil is not replenished with nutrients through fertilizing, crop yields will deteriorate over time. Careful analysing and fertilizing of crops enables a chain that provides humans with nutritional food: The nutrients feed the soil The soil feeds the plants Plants feed animals and people The three most common mineral fertilizers are those based on nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. The International Fertilizer Association (IFA) estimate that 85% of the soils globally are deficient in nitrogen. 73% of the soils are deficient in phosphorus, whereas 55% lack potassium. What is fertilizer used for? Often, the plants have few possibilities to avoid nutrient deficien...

You may be saying to yourself, ‘What is Broccoli?’ Basically, Broccoli is also one of the delicious and edible green vegetable plants, which falls under the cabbage family. In general, the large flowering head of broccoli is eaten as a vegetable in our day to day life. In fact, it is a cool-season crop, which can be grown in the spring season & fall season. The main advantage of growing Broccoli is that this green vegetable plant can be harvested throughout the year if plantation is done accurately. As a member of the cabbage family, it is most selected for the home garden. Fresh heads of broccoli are rich in almost all kinds of vitamins & minerals. Apart from this, they are tasty and delicious when eaten raw in salads as well as when lightly steamed and frozen well. And, it is the best choice for making a big profit in the rural area as a good economy. However, when it comes to the description of the Broccoli plant, a large and green flower head grows on its plant, speci...

As most parts of Zimbabwe recently received incessant rains, Urea fertiliser presents a good option for effective top-dressing. This is due to the fact that the conventional nitrogen source Ammonium Nitrate generally leaches under incessant rainfall which is not the case with Urea. This article provides basic information concerning Urea and its characteristics. The objective is for farmers to fully appreciate the nature of Urea and its effects, and secondly, to assist farmers with the proper use and application of Urea in maize specifically. Basic Description of Urea Fertilizer Urea is a white crystalline solid fertilizer containing 46% nitrogen. It is widely used in the agricultural industry as a fertilizer or an animal feed additive. Here, we only discuss its use as a nitrogen top dressing fertilizer. Commercially, Urea fertilizer can be purchased as prills or as a granulated material. In the past, it was usually produced by dropping liquid Urea from a "prilling tower" whil...

Robert Shimaingo is a 38 year old inventor who invented an ice plant and a moving power plant on the Kafue River. Robert lost his mother when he was a teenager and was left to take care of his younger siblings. Being used to inventing things, he took advantage of his skills and constructed A Rope-Braiding Machine. With this invention he managed to make enough money to support his family. He gradually improved the machine and the motorised version he now uses can produce 3, 000 meters of rope per day. His next project was constructing a floating Hydro-Power Plant. The idea to build it came to him when he saw the problems fishermen along the Kafue River experienced in getting fish to the market. “I saw how they were transporting big heavy blocks of ice up the river and often they melted before they reached their villages. With the Hydro-Power Plant they can connect a freezer and keep the fish frozen in order to get a better price at the market.” In 2013 the prestigious American universit...

Traditional intercropping dates back to early planting practices but researchers are looking for ways to make broadacre intercropping more efficient for modern practices. (Photo 185598616 © | Dreamstime.com) In nearly all healthy ecosystems, there is an intricate network of living organisms that coexist and  provide balance  to the environment.  Modern approaches to agriculture  counter this balance and embrace monoculture production. Within monoculture systems, there is only one type of crop which opens the crop to a number of problems, like pest infestations or  disease that result in  crop damage  or failure. To counteract problems stemming from monoculture,  sustainable agriculture aims to establish a more biologically diverse production environment. One common approach to achieving this is  intercropping . Intercropped systems are those in which two or more crops are grown together for a specific amount of time. There are four common...

A bumper tomato crop comes with early season planning. Getting tomatoes off to a strong start will almost guarantee a great yield next summer. Here are easy steps to an outstanding bumper tomato harvest: 1. Seed Sowing Time Tomato seedlings are tender and easily fall prey to disease, pests, and unpredictable changes in weather. Starting tomato seeds indoors is a good strategy. Sow tomato seeds in a seed starting mix 6 to 8 weeks before you plan to transplant them into the garden. Transplant tomato plants into the garden after the last frost in your area. Check with a nearby garden centre for the average last frost date in your area and then count back 6 weeks—that’s a safe time to sow tomato seeds indoors. 2. Sowing and Growing Indoors Sow two tomato seeds per pot; that way you will hedge your bet. Tomato seeds germinate at 75°F; you can use an electric seed starting mat to regulate the temperature or set your seed trays atop the refrigerator. Once the seeds are up, don’t let...

The desire to inspire and prove to her own local community that they could earn great money even with their small farms prompted Mary Wangui to venture into poultry farming and defy the common thinking about agriculture and self-employment. Mary says that it was high time people, especially the youth and women, thought beyond formal employment and sought greener pastures in business and agri-business ventures which guaranteed more freedom and great returns. She reckons that the people in her area do not own big farms, a factor that led many of its residents to disregard farming as a business. Compared to their neighbouring districts. It is for this reason Mary is calling on her fellow community members to venture into poultry farming, which she says, she needs little space to rear and guarantees a ready market. Instead of running to seek employment which is rarely available, our people should start thinking beyond formal employment through job creation. When I myself was employed, I ea...