Inkankusire Farm Clemens Makumbi I am an emerging small scale farmer under 2ha in the ZAMBEZI REGION
Operating currently at Kopano, w ith Lianshulu and Silonga as my background struggle
Before w e achieved this
And this
I needed to overcome challenges and change the w ay I w as farming • Drought/Climate change hit me when the Linyanti swamp dried out and the garden had to be abandoned, I moved to Lianshulu and than to KOPANO close to Katima. • I was lacking knowledge on good agricultural practices so my harvest was often un-predictable and poor there was no bench marking or record system in place . • The distance (130km) from the market and the bad state of the Katima-Sangwali gravel road, was another challenge • Management skills and production planning was lacking . • Theft is still a problem at Kopano /Katima farm side • 2012 most crops were lost as the planted area was too big to cope with, no planning on input and labour costs was done and as a result lots of cabbage had to be left on the fields where weeds took over.
Effect of climate change in Zambezi The Linyanti river going dry I had to abandon my farm….. Before the drought After the drought Efforts made to get water were in vain. The Lynanti never came back.
HOW I IMPROVED MY MANAGEMENT BEFORE 2013 AFTER 2014 TILL NOW STILL GROWING Through Staggered controlled planting HOW I GROW No planting in blocks, not coping with pest control or weeding and loss of most crop. No recording or measurements were done.
In my tomatoes I had no proper staking, trelling or pruning system in place. Plant spacing NOW I do and irrigation methods were not ideal which promoted diseases. Staking, proper spacing, planting on ridges and recording with plant markers for traceability
I went from no nursery or an open seedbed “system”. to investing in plant seedling care
Results w ere evident : Before and AFTER
I improved my irrigation practices and thus the quality of my produce w hile saving money at the same time To using dripp and micro From poor flood sprinkler saving energy irrigation and and water leaking sprinklers Switching from petrol to Electric pump
I learned to work climate smart By preserving soil moisture, reducing evapotranspiration, and buffering against extreme temperature fluctuations I limited crop stress, I stopped cutting trees indiscriminately
We started this year to improve our Soil through composting grass w ith manure Composting improves the soil structure It Improves • The water holding capacity of your soils • The soil flora including beneficial micro organism (which helps nutrients to become more available to plants) • Reduces leaching of nutrients • Adds nutrients
The main change I had to adapt to in order to be in control w as recording and planning
Record everything in a proper record book !
And I went from selling to adhoc traders to getting contracts
Buyers I record each block and crop separately As well as each buyer in my book
Have a production plan in place to get contracts !
Bench marking show s me w here I go w rong
When I see that I w ent w rong I can improve
New benchmark for 2017
With my records I w as ready for the team, and so can you
I thank you I also thank those guiding me and w ere patient such as my w ife my mentor my w orkers and our area committee chair …………
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