Farmers Urged to 'Pay Attention to Soils'
Organico, a South Africa-based firm, has urged farmers in southern Africa to adopt farming techniques to enable them mitigate climate change effects that have adversely affected agricultural productivity.
Company general manager Rashaad Kalla said the region has in the last two years experienced difficulties in agricultural development due to climatic challenges, and that Zambia is no exception.
In an interview recently, Mr Kalla said Zambia has good weather and soils that are rich in nutrients and can be used to grow various crops.
“This has been a difficult period for the entire southern Africa. Climate change is real and everyone involved in the agricultural community has to recognise this in order to change timing of crop plantings to get the best out of the season.
“Hopefully, farmers will be able to adjust their methods to get through this difficult period until the weather patterns stabilise,” Mr Kalla said.
He urged farmers to pay attention to their soils, which have potential to help them produce better quality crops, and that they need to adopt drought-resilient seeds to significantly increase yields in the drought season.
Ollivier Girard/CIFOR