Kingsley Kachenjela, founded the popular Facebook group Small Scale Farmers (Farming as business) (397 000 followers) to provide farmers with a platform to access and share relevant agricultural information. A man who believes that action must follow talk, Kingsley spoke about finding markets for farmer produce, at Zambia’s recent Agritech…
It is believed that successful farming requires a lot of land, but Ugandan veterinarian and farmer Dr. Emma Naluyima believes that with creativity you can build a productive farm on a small piece of land. Emma divided her 1 acre (0.4 hectare) piece of land into 4 quarters. On the…
Farmers globally find it difficult to get access to investments, but for smallholder farmers on the African continent it is even more so. During the recent African Agri Investment Indaba, many speakers cited that factors adding to investors shying away from agriculture on the African continent include; policy and political…
Smallholder farmers in West Africa may get free access to newly developed Bt cowpea seed that are resistant to the Maruca pod borer pest in the coming year. The cowpea is one of Africa’s indigenous crops, and is a good source of plant based protein for human consumption, as well…
Henry Mulenga wants to build a multi-million kwacha dairy and beef cattle business. But in his own words, “there is a huge challenge for small-scale livestock farmers like myself to rapidly increase our animal population with high productive breeds because of a lack of access to artificial insemination (AI) services”.…
A simple-to-use water pump called the flexipump is just the right tool and valuable asset for smallholder farmers to up their farming production and enter profitable farming. The flexipump takes the stain out of carrying water in buckets over long distances, is lightweight, needs no electricity or additional training and…
Construction of a state of the art US$10 million fish feed plant in Siavonga in Zambia’s Southern Province, has been completed. It is the first plant of its kind in the country. Government has meanwhile called for more private sector investment in the aquaculture industry to increase fish production. “This…
Government is to step up efforts - including enhanced branding and surveillance - to wipe out prevalent stock theft, says Livestock and Fisheries Minister Michael Katambo. Livestock specialists predict a robust growth of the sector as domestic and export markets grow. “Rampant stock theft poses a significant threat to the…
More than 1 million smallholder Zambians still battle to get improved seed varieties. This according to Ministry of Agriculture Permanent Secretary Julius Shawa, who said it is hindering productivity in the agriculture sector. Shawa also cited weak organisational structures, low investment and poor knowledge management as additional barriers to improving…
The lobby group African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) warns that amendments to the Plant Improvement Act 53 of 1976 and the Plant Breeders’ Rights Act 15 of 1976 could, among other issues, restrict the exchange of seed. According to Linzi Lewis, researcher at ACB, small farmers will be held to…
Two South African Ministers have called upon white farmers to lend a helping hand to emerging black farmers at a conference about transformation. Senzeni Zokwana, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries used the example of Bobby Godsell, CEO of AngloGold, who was a mentor to Patrice Motsepe, mine magnate and…
The Zambian government has pruned 600 000 beneficiaries from its Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP), while it announced the beginning of this years’ farming season as September 1. According to local media reports, Zambian Agriculture Minister Dora Siliya said the reduction is the result of effective targeting of intended beneficiaries…
The United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) says Zambian smallholder farmers are enhancing their technological capabilities by increasingly using irrigation. According to FAO’s market brief on irrigation in sub-Saharan Africa, Zambia has a comparative advantage for irrigation development because of the presence of large numbers of experienced equipment suppliers.…
Musika – a non-profit company that works to stimulate private sector investment in the smallholder market – has been a key partner of the Agritech Expo Zambia, since it started in 2014. We asked its Director of Strategy – Mr. Rob Munro – a few questions. How has Agritech Expo…
Zambia could become southern Africa’s bread basket, and agricultural growth should be the key to achieving the country’s developmental objectives. This according to the first Agriculture Status Report of the Indaba Agricultural Policy Research Institute. The institute is a non-profit company and a combined effort between the Zambian government and…
The World Bank has released US$30 million to support 253 000 small-scale farmers in the livestock sector. This will increase the number of beneficiaries to 390 000 by June 2018. The money forms part of the banks’ US$64.74 million programme aimed at mitigating livestock diseases nationwide. “The programme involves institutional…
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 AGCO (agricultural company) corporation has expanded into Africa from their Asia Pacific region, and has said it hoped to offer solutions to small-scale farmers. “Our line of mechanisation, grain storage, seed processing and protein solutions supports the complete spectrum of farmers, from emerging sector to large [scale farmers] and…
