Sweet potatoes form a key staple and poverty-relief crop in southern Africa. Orange-fleshed types are useful in combating the vitamin A deficiency which causes many African children to go blind. The sweet potato performs well in sandy-loam, loam or clay-loam soil. It needs good drainage and is sensitive to water-logging, salinity…
Zambia’s horticulture exports have declined, leading to a loss of more than 10 000 jobs, says the Zambia Export Growers Association (ZEGA). According to ZEGA, industry revenue declined from US$60 million last year to US$25 million due to high production costs. The industry makes a significant contribution to the country’s…
South Africa’s Land Bank wants to provide R1 billion worth of finance to black entrepreneurs in the 2018 financial year to invest in predetermined agricultural products like fruit and nuts. CEO TP Nchocho said the bank also wants to invest R500 million in specific food and agricultural processing industries which…
The Emirates Airline has launched Skyfresh, an export solution for Zambian horticultural producers. In a statement, the airline says Skyfresh combines its state of the art cargo infrastructure hub in Dubai to ensure perishables like fruit, vegetables and flowers retain their freshness to export destinations. “Unique features will include prioritised…
He stopped to admire a field of healthy looking tomatoes. And that gave Jones Shimbela (34) the idea to grow it himself. More than 12 months later he has his own thriving agriculture enterprise, harvesting nearly 2 000 crates of 25kg of tomatoes on a 50m by 100m piece of…
