Mr. Alexander and mrs. Agatha Tendai Matuka may have started out as small-scale farmers in Zambia’s Central Province some years back, but their joint passion for agriculture, keen business sense and ambition to excel has propelled them into commercial status in a short time. At their current rate of expansion…
Continuous monitoring and close cooperation between farmers, veterinarians and officials from the Veterinary Sciences Directorate at the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) ensure that South Africa (SA) retains its status of being foot and mouth disease (FMD) free, says Dricus Botha, TLU North Manager. The Daily Maverick recently…
Agricolleges International, an internet-based platform launched to provide online training in agriculture, is going to offer its first 5 courses in March 2018. This follows after the South African (SA) sector specific education and training authority AgriSETA announced the accreditation of the college as a training institution in the agricultural sector.…
Gaston Mukuwa, a farmer from Katoba in the Lusaka Province’s Chongwe district lost everything in a fire 3 years ago. Broke and desparate, he turned to conservation agriculture to dig himself out of the pit. He had to rebuild not only his home, but also the 5 hectare farm he…
When David Samutela bought his 1 000 ha farm just south of Mkushi town in Zambia’s Central Province in 2006 he had no intention of farming. He had just retired from a corporate career at the Zambia’s national airline and bought the land as an investment. The advertisement in the…
Faustina Phiri who farms in the Njolwe area near Lusaka, experienced a paradigm shift when she realised that agriculture meant a lot more than planting maize. Faustina was one of a group of retirees who were given land on the former farm of the Dairy Training Institute in the mid…
Professor Joseph Mbaiwa from the University of Botswana, says the ban on safari hunting which was implemented in 2014, was a political decision and cannot be justified from a scientific viewpoint. According to his research report titled “The impact of the ban on safari hunting tourism on local income and…
Mr. Tilo Chimuka, a retired teacher from the Mazabuka district, is not only earning a good living for himself and his family through conservation farming practices, he is also instrumental in helping the Agriculture Department in training other farmers to care for their land. Tilo farms on 10 ha in…
A water wheel on a guest farm in George’s Valley near Tzaneen in Limpopo province, South Africa, generates hydroelectric power without having any impact on the environment and all the while covering the costs it took to build. Many farmers know Rob Wesseloo as the former CEO of the Clover…
Cattle handling facilities that are properly designed make handling such as dosing, sorting and veterinarian examinations more effective, prevent stress and injuries to workers and animals and require minimal manual labour. When Rian van Wyk, a Brangus breeder from Ermelo in South Africa, decided it was time for a new…
By producing organic vegetables, fruits, chickens, eggs and pork in Zambia's Kafue district with holistic management methods, Sebastian Scott earns a substantial premium for his products from retailers and families in the country's capital, Lusaka. So much so that he could grow from a micro farmer whose products were transported…
Neville Pinkney is well known and respected for his prime Brahman genetics and runs a successful farm near Mazabuka. Farming with his parents, he has a commercial cattle herd, breeds goats for the emerging farmers market and produces mutton, lamb and seed maize. He has a lot of faith in…
A young macadamia farmer in the Sabie River Valley in Mpumalanga, South Africa is proving that anyone can become a farmer, even if he hasn’t inherited land and doesn’t know a thing about farming. This ex-golfer’s secret to success is a willingness to learn, a passion for farming and good…
A group of farmers show how they’ve made a commercial success with pig farming on a small leased farm in Limpopo without taking out huge loans, inheriting land or buying expensive equipment. The driving force behind this success story are a former Zimbabwean cattle farmer who lost his 12 000…
When the management of Amorentia Estate and Nursery near Tzaneen realised they had to replace their 35-year-old avocado trees, they confronted the reality that faces avocado growers across southern Africa. There is such a shortage of avocado plant material, that farmers have to wait many years for new trees. In…
Simon Malambo, a local headman in the Southern Province's Monze area, runs his 25ha farm on traditional land in close co-operation with his wife and children. He believes in collective decision-making and follows an open book policy with the farm's finances. "If anything happens to me today, my daughter, my…
Since he started to practice conservation farming 11 years ago, Mr. Sinoya Phiri of Kafue’s Shimabala region, has gone from a struggling maize farmer to a profitable businessman. He could afford to build a comfortable family home complete with electricity on his 3,5ha farm and he doesn’t struggle to pay school…
Quality is king, says tomato farmer, Jimmy Manjanja, of JM Farming Enterprize in Mwembeshi, west of Lusaka. On his farm, about 40 km from the capital, he has learned to produce top quality tomatoes all year round with precious little water. Jasper Raats visited Jimmy. Every 6 to 8 weeks…
Choosing improved seed has made a huge difference to Muunza Swanable, a developing commercial maize farmer near Choma in Zambia’s Southern Province. He spoke to JASPER RAATS. Muunza Swanable farms 200ha of traditional land near the town of Choma. On the land, allocated to him by Chief Mapanza Simonzele, he…
