Cosmas Dumezweni Xaba (50) is a family man with a wife, 7 children and 1 grandchild. He retired from the mines in 2008 to come and farm, growing crops and rearing livestock. He strongly believes in doing things for the well-being of his family. He is a pastor at a…
Soil tillage is a costly business and intensive tillage can degrade the soil and impact the potential for crop production in the long term. New tillage systems, such as no-till and reduced tillage, were developed to slow down or stop the process of degradation. These systems, which fall under the…
Any new farmer should consider a number of aspects before deciding on a mechanisation package. Expert advice should be sought on soil conditions and the operations needed to plant a successful crop in that specific area. If a farmer knows which operations are needed on his land, he then knows…
Weed management is an important part of crop production, but how does the no-till farmer keep weeds under control without conventional farming methods at his disposal? Richard Findlay from the No-till Club of KwaZulu-Natal says no-till farming requires a complete mind shift. The challenge is to overcome the first years…
Correct seed placement and depth are critical for successful no-till crop production. As is the case with conventional agriculture, farmers have to use specialised planting machinery to ensure correct seed placement and depth. Richard Findlay from the No-till Club of KwaZulu-Natal, explains that one of the major differences with no-till…
Phumelele Thembisile Hlongwane is a mother of 6 from Ezibomvini village in the Bergville area of South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal Province. She is one of about 400 smallholder farmers experimenting with conservation agriculture as part of Grain SA’s Smallholder Farmer Innovation Programme with the Mahlathini Development Foundation. Phumelele says her passion stems…
The Zimbabwean method of basin planting – where small pockets of soil are hoed and filled with seed and fertiliser – is practical and will improve your soil as years go by. Basin planting is one of several techniques available to small-scale farmers to produce a crop using conservation agriculture…
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…
Don’t let the supposed fear of moisture loss keep you from cultivating cover crops, says Gabe Brown, cover crop pioneer from the US state of North Dakota. He plants all his cash crops in grazed cover crops. Brown says the last season was the driest in decades in the region.…
In this video, smallholder farmers from Bergville in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa share their stories and the lessons they learnt from Conservation Agriculture. They also talk about the advantages of working together and the advantages thereof. Â This video was produced by Grain SA. https://youtu.be/6wGBuReNSKc
For grain farmers, the future lies in our ability to look after the health of soil. With the change of climate and more mouths to feed, farmers have to farm as efficient as possible to harvest the best possible yields from healthy plants. By using conservation agricultural practices we can…
A study conducted by the Indaba Agricultural Policy Research Institute (IAPRI) shows adoption rates for Conservation Agriculture (CA) in Zambia is still very low, even though the practice is highly promoted under small-scale farmers. Using data from the 2015 national representative rural household survey, the IAPRI found only 8.8% of…
Justine Mukota wrote to us:Â Good afternoon, please send info on conservation farming with no-till. Will appreciate your feedback. Dear Justine It is not possible to give a comprehensive guide on conservation agriculture and minimum tillage in one article, but here are some pointers and web-sites that will get you started.…
