Zambia Agribusiness Society

General Requirements Rape does well in warm seasons of the year. Optimum temperatures for growing are 20ºC to 25ºC, with minimum temperatures of 18ºC and maximum 30ºC. Popular Rape varieties are English Giant, Prior Rape and Hobson. A well-managed Rape crop should yield 5 tons per Lima with a leaf cutting period of 40 to 50 days. First leaves can be harvested 21 days after transplanting. Land Preparation/Soil Type Deep well-drained loamy soils with a pH range from 5.5 to 6.5 is ideal for Rape. Effective rooting depth is 60cm. Plough and disc to a 60cm fine tilth seedbed. Avoid planting rape on land previously planted on other brassicas for at least one season. Planting and Transplanting Sow directly by drilling in the farrows 1 to 2cm deep or raise seedlings in nursery beds and transplant 4 to 5 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 20cm between plants and 60cm...

In any business deal, rest assured that there will be winners and losers. The losers will always be those who blink during negotiations; those who fail to adequately prepare and squarely look into the eyes of those they negotiate with. Zambia has always lost out on many deals: we sold Chingola Mine for $25 million. The new owners recouped the $25 million merely by selling mine scrap. Within a year the new owner realised $600 million: He had all the tax holidays in place. It’s strongly rumoured that that’s the business which catapulted him into the billionaire’s league. The sole loser was Zambia because those tasked to negotiate were ignorant or were compromised to play dumb; at a fee of course! This deal smacked corruption! The hallmark of most of Zambian negotiators is to personally gain at whatever cost! They don’t care a hoot about the well-being and interest of the country. Even under the so-called Patriotic Front government, negotiators were not patriotic to the country but to...

Drug discovery and design is a complex process that requires collaboration between various fields, including chemistry, biology, pharmacology, and more. Within this pipeline, biochemists play a critical role in understanding the biochemical mechanisms that underlie diseases and drug targets, designing and optimising drug candidates, and ensuring their safety and efficacy. Starting at the earliest stage of drug discovery, biochemists work to identify and validate potential drug targets by studying the structure and function of proteins, enzymes, and other biological molecules. They may use a variety of techniques; including X-ray crystallography, NMR spectroscopy, and mass spectrometry, to determine the 3D structure of these molecules and understand how they interact with other proteins or ligands in the body. Once a drug target has been identified, biochemists help design and optimise drug candidates that can selectively bind to and modulate the activity of the target molecule. T...

Knowledge is power. We are bringing this knowledge not only on media but where farmers are. Will you be part of the 100 farmers we are targeting to grow their potential through specialised training in each district? Be part of this movement that is raising the capacity of smallholder farmers to advanced levels of farming through practical knowledge and experience. Do not be proud being a smallholder farmer that is merely a step towards large scale farming. This May to October, Renegia Consultancy in conjunction with Conservation Farming Unit, The Ministry of Agriculture, The Mast, KNC Radio and Television Spice will be conducting extensive trainings under the theme ‘’Arise Zambia Agriculture A sleeping Economic Giant’’. The target groups are: farmers, agriculture cooperative leaders, extension experts, agro dealers and the media in the following areas: Chongwe, Kafue, Kabwe, Mumbwa, Kapiri Mposhi, Mpongwe, Mkushi, and Serenje. For other provinces and districts who wish to participa...

Your farm income doesn’t have to drop just because the temperature has. Use your greenhouse to grow products for sale all winter-long. When cold weather sets in, most farmers close up their market booth for the season and pack it in. However, a farmer looking to continue earning income in the off-season can turn to a greenhouse as a season extender, offering produce to hungry customers year-round. But what crops are best for greenhouse production? And what is the winter customer looking for? These are things you’ll need to identify before starting your greenhouse operation. While it will take a little bit of market research on your part, here are our favourite greenhouse crops, as well as how to maximizing your yields and get them into the hands of eager customers. 1. Cut and Head Lettuce Lettuce is a relatively hardy vegetable, and a popular one no matter what time of year. Grow a few different lettuce varieties for mixes, as well as some colourful lettuce heads, to draw customers...

1. Chop up dry old maize stalks or other low quality straw overmature grass-cellulose material. Dig a pit and line with plastic or use the silage bags and fill in the chopped material. The recommended ratio for treating the residue is 60 grams of urea for every 1kg of dry fodder. The water should be in the same ratio as the fodder being treated. For example if you have 400kg of maize stalks, use 400 litres of water and add 24kg of urea. 2. After 3 weeks, the chopped and treated material will be much more palatable to cows, goats, and all other animals. In milking cows, it has been proved to boost milk production. 3. There is no danger of poisoning in this method, as the urea will have been absorbed by the cellulose and converted to a form that provides energy to the animal as well. Use urea on other feeds Urea can be mixed with other animal feeds. But these should be done carefully so as not to overdose the animal 4. Do not mix too much urea with the feed. Urea should not be gi...

Before a farmer starts fish farming, there are several basic considerations to ensure success. These include: Pond design When deciding on the pond site and design, there are some factors to be considered. Some of these are: a) Source of water to fill the pond and how the same water will be brought to the pond : The general rule is that the pond water inflow and outflow should equal the pond volume over the period of a month. If the inflow is too low, water quality may suffer from oxygen depletion and/or accumulation of toxicants. If the water outflow is too high, large amounts of beneficial algae may be flushed out from the pond. The water should keep the pond full throughout the culture period. The pond should fill up in less than a week. Place screens on pond inlets and outlets to keep out predators, insects and unwanted fish and also to retain the cultured fish. b) Size, shape and depth of the pond : Relatively shallow ponds are productive. However, the shallow...