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Agricultural practices that conserve soil moisture are inevitable in the face of erratic rains and constant droughts. Mulching can improve water productivity through increase in water retention and reduction in surface evaporation. The study was conducted in Lundazi District of Eastern Province...

Soil acidity is a common constraint to crop production in Zambia. Agricultural lime is applied in dry powder form to acid soils to neutralize acidity. New liming materials in aqueous suspension form have recently been introduced on the Zambian market and their effectiveness in neutralizing...

Poor soil fertility management practices coupled with climate variability are among factors negatively impacting crop productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Promotion of Sustainable Land Management (SLM) practices among farmers has been one of the measures taken to improve and maintain crop...

Maize is Zambia’s staple food crop, grown by farmers across the country. It is a high nutrient demanding crop that requires adequate amounts of N, P K and other nutrients to obtain economic yields. The recommended basal dressing fertilizer for small scale farmers in Zambia is Compound D, (10: 20:...

Common bean and groundnut are an important source of protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals for both humans and livestock. These legumes are produced mostly by smallholder farmers whose current yields are far below the potential yield of 2 t/ha for both legumes due to biological...

The adoption of various tillage methods has varied across the continent. This study focusses on determining the factors that influence adoption of various tillage practices and the impact of tillage methods on maize productivity in Zambia. In Zambia, prior studies have focused on making...

Conservation Agriculture has been recommended as a sustainable farming system for many crops in Zambia based on reported improvements in soil infiltration, moisture, soil carbon, microbial activity and reduced bulk density over time. However, the effects in groundnuts such as plant development,...

Poor rainfall distribution, low soil calcium, soil acidity and low soil moisture stress contribute largely to low levels of groundnut productivity. Because the majority of groundnut farmers in Zambia are small-holder and have limited resources, they are not able to cope with these production...

Smallholder farmers in Mazabuka district of Southern province of Zambia have been experiencing worsened climate change related shocks especially dry spells or drought, increased incidences of crop pests and diseases in the recent years. Farmers have had to cope with such shocks through the...

Kansanshi Foundation, a corporate social unit of Kansanshi Mining PLC in Solwezi has been supporting conservation agriculture (CA) among smallholder farmers in Chafukuma area since 2010 without any empirical evidence of CA benefits. This study assessed the effects of CA on soil fertility of...