Agricultural tips - Crops, Livestock & Fisheries

By GLORIA SIWISHA THE agricultural sector is important for Zambia for many reasons. It is considered to be the backbone of the economy as it provides food and raw material for domestic industry and also employment opportunities to a very large proportion of the population. According to the Seventh National Development Plan (7NDP), the agricultural sector is crucial for achieving diversification, economic growth and poverty reduction in Zambia. However, the sector has been with its challenges. Experts argue that the crops sub-sector in particular faces challenges of low productivity propelled by a number of factors. Sibajene Mudenda, a researcher at the Zambia Agricultural Research Institute (ZARI)  Mount Makulu Research Station, said recently during a meeting with Ministry of Agriculture staff in Eastern Province that the factors attributed to the low and declining productivity of smallholder farmers in Zambia are inadequate farming practices; decreasing soil fertility and la...

By GLORIA SIWISHA, Chipata AN epidemic of groundnut rosette disease threatens to drastically reduce the 2019/2020 groundnut yield in the Eastern Province of Zambia. Preliminary data obtained from the Zambia Agriculture Research Institute ZARI’s Msekera research station in Chipata, shows that the most severely affected smallholder groundnut fields are those in Chipata, Kasenengwa, Chipangali, Katete, and Petauke districts. As an off-shoot of weather related risks like late on-set of rains, droughts and dry-spells, groundnut rosette disease is said to be the most devastating virus disease of groundnuts in Sub-Saharan Africa with the potential to cripple rural economies. Research has shown that rosette virus disease can reduce groundnut yields by 70 to 90 percent. According to Yayock et al. 1976, an epidemic in northern Nigeria in 1975 destroyed approximately 0.7 million hectares of groundnuts, with an estimated loss of US$ 250 million. Similarly, an epidemic in eastern Zambia in 1995 af...

By GLORIA SIWISHA THE economy of Eastern Province is largely dependent on agriculture and agribusiness. The agricultural sector employs nearly 85 percent of the region's workforce. Those employed mostly work in the subsistence farming sub-sector. The major crops grown in the region include maize, groundnuts, burley tobacco, cotton, sunflower and soybeans. However, the potential that the province has in food production has not yet been fully exploited largely because the majority of producers still use traditional approaches in crop production which impact negatively on overall production and productivity. In view of this, the Government continues to strengthen agricultural extension services as a major agricultural transformation strategy. This is premised on the understanding that a strong extension service system is critical in introducing farmers to knowledge, information, and technologies that can improve their productivity, incomes, and well-being. According to the Second Nati...