A US$25 million programme called AgriFin Accelerate (AFA) has now also been launched in Zambia to drive digital advancement for small scale farmers. The program was launched by Mercy Corps, an international humanitarian aid agency. It is run in partnership with The MasterCard Foundation, which works with non-profit organisations to…
He’s a white collar worker who left the comfort of a corporate job to toil on a farm. And engineering graduate Gyavira Bwalya (49) is one of several farmers to do just this. Farming is Gyavira Bwalya’s first love, and he had no choice but to divide his time between…
Old seed varieties, one of the hurdles for smallholder farmers trying to secure yields, is currently the focus for international agricultural research. Over the past 10 years, two international non-profit research organisations – the International Maize Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) – have gone…
Zambian minister of lands Jean Kapata on Tuesday announced an export ban on all timber species, including the sought-after Mukula tree. The minister said the move was necessitated by the need to curb rapid deforestation arising from illegal timber harvesting. Between 2000 and 2014 Zambia lost an average of 276…
Namibia’s best extensive dairy farmer for 2015 successfully combines the production of fresh milk and the growing out of oxen in tough, dry conditions on his farm. Pure-bred dairy cows are not suitable for extensive dairy production in the toughest parts of Namibia. As a result, extensive dairy farmers prefer…
Political leaders in South Africa have called on the country’s department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) to implement measures against a possible invasion of the fall army worm. The department has been quiet on a possible action plan, since reports of the pest crossing South African borders came to…
An agriculture NGO claims extension officers in the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) are abusing the system. The claims by the Zambia Agriculture Rural Development Initiative (ZARDI) came amid mounting pressure to eradicate problems in FISP’s management. President Edgar Lungu said he would soon constitute a team of experts to…
Produce from organic farming is a niche market in first world cities; expensive food grown for rich city people who don’t want pesticides, herbicides or hormones to contaminate their palates. It’s a good market, so let’s not knock it. But organic can also be a far cheaper way for smallholders…
The African Honey Bee company in Pretoria in South Africa was specifically established to assist poor communities in setting up viable beekeepers and beekeeping businesses. The company’s founder believes that in order to keep costs down, farmers should collaborate with their neighbours in these types of projects. Carien Kruger spoke…
This video, produced by the South African institution PLAAS, in partnership with Zambia Land Alliance, looks at the impact of big investment on Zambian agriculture, Zambian farmers, food production patterns, food markets and household food security. In short - it shows what is happening in Zambian agriculture under the influence…
The electronic voucher (e-vouchers) system for the 2016/2017 farming seasons is mired in delays, because of a cash shortfall of K400 m. This according to Agriculture permanent secretary Julius Shawa, who appeared before parliament’s budget committee. Shawa said his ministry needed K1.04 bn to sufficiently fund the e-voucher payments. So…
“Anthrax is deadly.” A dire warning from Zambian Minister of Fisheries and Livestock Michael Katambo to communities in the anthrax hit Western Province. The minister was in the Kalabo district on behalf President Edgar Lungu, who wanted the outbreak to be brought under control swiftly. Three people there have died…
President Edgar Lungu on Wednesday named fish farming as a viable option for millions of Zambians to increase their income and create jobs. The president also showcased his own attempt – he raised 2,500 fingerlings himself. Lungu set up his fish farm at State Lodge, the second presidential home. It’s…
Louis and Gerhard Lourens farm indigenous goats on a smallholding in Waterval, in Gauteng Province, South Africa. The Lourens family lives in a ‘smallholder belt’ north of Pretoria, one of South Africa’s two capital cities. If one thinks about it, there are probably smallholder belts in the outer corridors of…
A South African farmer converted his quadbike into a crop sprayer and saved himself a lot of money. When Mr Morné Erwee, a maize farmer from the farm Tower Hill outside Grahamstown, returned home from holiday in December to the sight of weeds growing rampantly in among his maize, he…
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…
The Zambia Poultry Association (PAZ) has refuted claims that some poultry farmers were mixing HIV-AIDS drugs into chicken feed to speed up growth and weight of their birds. “It is simply not true. Mixing ARVs into chicken feed will simply result into death for the chickens,” said Percival Mwela, PAZ…
Even for those without physical challenges, farming is not an easy business to pursue. The pressure is even greater for Nkole Chanda, a wheelchair-bound young woman with no capital. Nkole Chanda seems undaunted by the considerable challenges stacked against her. She has several ambitious farming ideas. One of these ideas…
Struggling in the mud under a centre pivot, with a jack balancing on wooden blocks, is now a thing of the past, thanks to a grain farmer’s smart idea. Johan van der Merwe did the reporting. Flat tyres and broken gearboxes on centre pivots can now be safely repaired in…
The Millers Association of Zambia (MAZ) has said that Zambia needed to import 250,000 tonnes of wheat to avert an acute shortage that would result in price increases for bread and other wheat products. According to MAZ, the national current wheat stock was just below 300,000 tonnes and would only…
The governor of the Bank of Zambia (BOZ), Denny Kalyalya, has urged government to scrap the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP). The cost of the programme increased with K1.8 billion to K2.3billion in the last two years. Kalyalya appeared before the Parliamentary Committee on Budget and Estimates. He said such…
The Zambian Ministry of Agriculture has started distributing early maturing maize seed to help farmers hit by fall army worms to recoup their losses. Farmers in the Copperbelt was among the first recipients of 10 tonnes of the early maturing seed. Provincial permanent secretary reverend Howard Sikwela said the seed…
