THE Zambia Agriculture Research Institute (ZARI) in partnership with SNV Netherlands Development Organisation has started conducting a research on soil improvement.

The move is aimed at enhancing soil testing among farmers and improve soil fertility in all the three agro ecological zones across the country.

Speaking in an interview with NAIS, ZARI Technical Research Assistant Kalunga Bwalya said there is need to enhance soil health if farmers are to have increased yields.

Mr Bwalya explained that farmers should always consider understanding the soil in their fields before engaging in any agricultural activities for better production.

“Farmers should always consider understanding their soils before engaging in any agricultural activities as soil is a backbone for increased agricultural production and productivity. If farmers know there soils it will be very easy for them to have an idea of what type of fertilizer to apply in their crops,” Mr Bwalya indicated.

Mr Bwalya highlighted that farmers have depleted nutrients in their field due to wrong application of fertilizers thereby leading to reduced agricultural productivity and exacerbating land degradation.

He however, indicated that Lack of effective soil management and underutilized climate smart technologies have continued to reduce agricultural productivity among farming households in Zambia.

And Increasing Climate Resilience in Energy, Agriculture Systems and Entrepreneurship –INCREASE- project Field Coordinator, Jonas Silwimba says the project is developing mechanisms aimed at integrating soil testing as part of climate smart agriculture initiatives.

He observed that researchers have come up with various climate smart technologies which have not trickled down to farmers due to information gap between researchers and farmers.

Mr Silwamba stated that the increase project was working with the Ministry of Agriculture to ensure that farmers understand their soils and adopt climate smart technologies for increased crop productivity.

Mr Silwamba revealed that the increase project which was being implemented under the SNV Netherlands Development Organisation has so far constructed more than 6000 bio digesters to improve on renewable energy.

“Farmers should embrace bio digester technology in order to help them manage waste in the environment. By breaking down organic matter in a closed, controlled system, bio digesters can reduce the associated greenhouse gases produced by waste decomposing in open environments. Waste include food scraps, crop residues, animal manure or human waste,” Mr Silwamba explained.

He added that the project being funded by the Swedish government has also trained over 12, 000 farmers on good agronomical practices in the country.

Meanwhile, Mushroom Society of Zambia Chairperson Watson Hamungala stressed the need for farmers to diversify and engage in mushroom production.

Mr Hamungala said investing in mushroom growing requires less capital and was profitable hence the need for farmers to consider the venture. -NAIS