ProAgri Zambia 007 - May 2016

ProAgri technology for the farmer

Z a m b i a

May 2016 Nr 07

Free

All about Agritech 2016

Massey Ferguson:

Vision of the future

Letter from the Editor

e can fill a book with all the photographs we took and information we gathered at Agritech 2016, and we almost did! Unfortunately, there is only space for so much in every issue, but we hope you enjoy our visual report on the expo from page 12 onwards, with some more to follow next month.

ProAgri really appreciated the opportunity to be involved as media sponsor of the event and we will definitely be there again next year. Information is the key to success, and the drastic increase in attendance numbers at this year’s expo confirms that farmers understand this truth.

It is true that representatives of companies have to punt and sell their products, but I have never come across one that is not prepared to share what he knows or even what he has learned from the experience of other farmers who found solutions to problems. An expo such as Agritech, as well as farmers’ days, offers the ideal opportunity to farmers to pick the brains and share in the experience of those who know.

ProAgri firmly believes that information should be freely available and we would like your input in what we write about.

Please let us know if we are on track or what you would like to read about.

One of the reasons for agricultural growth in Zambia is the involvement and positive attitude of the government and business organisations as seen in the attendance of important decisionmakers to Agritech. Here Dr Evelyn Nguleka, ZNFU President and President of the World Farmers’ Organisation (WFO) welcomes Bruce Dick, Managing Director and CEO of Zanaco (the main sponsor of the event), His Excellency, President Edgar Lungu and Given Lubinda, Zambian Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, to the show.

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A whole new range of implements was introduced by Massey Ferguson (AGCO) at an impressive Vision of the Future event near Lusaka. Read more about the new range on page 9 and then turn the page to see what AGCO’s local partner, BHBW Zambia, had on display at Agritech.

ProAgri technology for the farmer

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Office no. 3 Fens Investment Building Lusaka Show Grounds

+26 (0)96-216-9801 www.proagri.co.za

ProAgri’s representatives enjoyed the opportunity to meet and greet our clients and readers. From the left is Stefan van Wyk, Du Preez de Villiers, Xander Pieterse and Quintus Grobler (GM) of ProAgri Zambia.

Farm smartly!

Annemarie Bremner > annemarie@proagri.co.za

Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved. No material, text or photographs may be reproduced, copied or in any other way transmitted without the written consent of the publisher. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the publisher or of the editor.

We recognise all trademarks and logos as the sole property of their respective owners. ProAgri shall not be liable for any errors or for any actions in reliance thereon.

ProAgri Zambia Editor Annemarie Bremner > +27 82-320-3642 annemarie@proagri.co.za General Manager Zambia Quintus Grobler > +26 (0)96-216-9801 quintus@vanetechnology.com

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Reporters Du Preez de Villiers > +27 82-598-7329 dupreez@proagri.co.za Benine Cronjé > +27 73-105-6938 benine@proagri.co.za Marketing Xander Pieterse > +27 79-524-0934 xander@proagri.co.za Stefan van Wyk > +27 82-381-7563 stefan@agritrader.co.za

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Tiny Smith > +27 79-531-0024 tiny@proagri.co.za

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Melissa Pols > +27 83-748-3413 melissa@proagri.co.za

3 DeLaval delivers more milk with less stress 5 Preventative medicine – Pre-mating check-ups (part 1)

Hussein Kalinda > +26 97-857-6569 kalinda@proagri.co.za

9 Vision of the future: MF launches new implement range

Design Esta van Niekerk

11 BHBW: Showcase of technology

Content

12 Agritech: A surprise around every corner 21 Senter 360 offers big and small solutions 22 Wheat production: New research 25 Ocmis irrigators save harvests 27 GSI TopDry: An efficient method to dry grain

30 Soil: The farmer’s most important asset (Part 5.2) 31 How to use your wood resources

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martly Farm s

Enquiries Engela Botha > +27 12-803-0667 engela@proagri.co.za Accounts Ronel Keet > +27 861-777-225 accounts@smartpublishing.co.za Distribution Du Preez de Villiers > +27 12-803-0667 dupreez@proagri.co.za.co.za Business manager George Grobler

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Don't hide!

Advertise your product, company or service in ProAgri Zambia We distribute 10 000 copies to farmers and the agricultural community every month.

Contact our Zambian oďŹƒce: Quintus Grobler: +26 (0)96-216-9801 quintus@vanetechnology.com Or our representatives in SA: Xander Pieterse: +27 79-524-0934 xander@proagri.co.za Stefan van Wyk: +27 82-381-7563 stefan@agritrader.co.za

P.O. Box 32269, Lusaka, Zambia, Tel: 0211 843272 0211 288826 Cell: 0966-516161 E-mail: info@agrivetafrica.com Sales: sales@agrivetafrica.com Accounts: accounts@agrivet.com

For your convenience! New premises on Kafue Road, Makeni opposite Southern Cross Motors

* Suppliers of quality Veterinary and Agriculture products * In-house expertise for quality advice.

New premises for AGRIVET AFRICA on Kafue road, opposite Southern Cross Motors from Makeni Mall, second left turn with parking space.

Melissa Pols: +26 (0)83-748-3413 melissa@proagri.co.za

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DeLaval delivers more milk with less stress C

hartonel Estates is a stone’s throw away from Lusaka towards Chisamba. The farm was established as a family farm in 1966 by Anthony Cooke, Eleanor Cooke and Charles Youngson. Today, the third and fourth generation Cookes, Stuart and Sean, are still at the helm of the operations.

The opportunities offered by agriculture in Zambia are far from depleted, and they are not afraid to implement new ideas to make their operations more productive and profitable.

Besides a wide variety of crops, they also milk 500 Holstein cows.

But milking is a delicate business and if a farmer wants to carry on milking tomorrow, he should acquire top resources and equipment.

Initially, the Cooke’s installed a herringbone layout, but as the herd grew bigger, it soon took them 16 hours a day to complete the two milking shifts.

They had to look for an alternative and in October last year they made the bold move to order a 60-point rotary parlour from DeLaval.

Experience in Africa There is a handful of large scale commercial dairy farmers in the area, but the numbers of upcoming dairy farmers who are eager to turn their passion into profit are growing by the day. This is where DeLaval comes into the picture. This Swedish company with a growing footprint all over the world already proved their worth when it comes to assisting African farmers. Their systems are robust and the Cookes can even continue milking on

generator power during the regular power outages.

In the beginning of March, they send the first cows in and suddenly their shifts were reduced to a mere 1,5 hours each! “Today we can milk 60 cows every ten minutes and that drastically reduced the stress on the animals. Previously we had to push the animals into the milking parlour, but nowadays they are so eager to come in that we have to push them back,” Sean says.

Another reason for the pushy animals is that the computerised feeding system keeps a performance record of every cow and drops the right amount of food into her bucket as the cows enter the parlour. This leads to optimised nutritional intake which allows every cow to give the best she has to offer.

For a world-class DeLaval input on your farm, contact Dairymac at +263-44-95-300, Tim Hawgood at +263-712-605-544 or e-mail accounts@dairymac.co.zw or tim@dairymymac.co.zw. Visit www.delaval.co.za for more information.

Chartonel Estate’s milking crew quickly became familiar with DeLaval’s new rotary parlour system and today they can go through the procedures without hesitation.

The Holsteins on Chartonel Estates are very relaxed and can’t wait to swop their milk for their individual feed rations in the new DeLaval rotary milking parlour.

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Reduced stress in dairy cows also means higher production. The Cookes can vouch for that, since their herd average increased from 20 to 23 litres in just a month and a half. “Our production is still increasing and our target is an average of 25 litres per cow per day,” Sean says.

But not only the animals benefit from the new system. The staff find the system easy to manage and the relevant milking information is displayed on a digital screen next to every cow. When the milk flow stops, the clusters automatically stop sucking, pull themselves away and the system records it. These are the small things that allow the manager and dairy workers to spend more time and energy on other important work on the farm.

“The way the new system is designed makes it much more hygienic.

The amount of waste milk also decreased significantly and the buyers are completele satisfied,” Sean says.

Sean Cooke explains the simple and easy to understand digital screen on one of the milking points.

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Preventative medicine – Pre-mating check-ups (part 1) In a previous article we looked at bulls and rams and how to care for them in order for the best possible sperm cells to reach the ovum for optimum fertilisation. This month we discuss four management procedures or processes that we should follow in order to increase the productivity of beef cattle, apart from bull selection. Next month the focus will be on cow management for increased productivity.

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teven Covey, author of “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”, says that we should: “Begin with the end in mind”!

Extensive beef farming is all about getting more calves and getting better calves. Quality and quantity is what matters.

Our previous article stated the desirability of bulls with larger testes.

Bulls with larger testes produce heifer calves with bigger ovaries, which in return produce more hormones.

These heifers grow out better because they have more natural hormones, they reach puberty earlier in life, start cycling earlier in the breeding season, conceive earlier and calve down early in the calving season. The net effect of this is a longer “recovery period” before the next breeding, leading to better re-conception rates in first time calving cows, which they also tend to do throughout their productive lifetime.

Selecting bulls with larger testicles therefore leads to increased fertility in their offspring.

Four management procedures or processes that we should follow in order to increase productivity of beef cattle, apart from bull selection are: Manage and feed heifer calves to come into production as early as

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possible. The optimal age for first breeding seems to be around 15 months of age so that they calve down as two year olds.

In spite of varying rainfall patterns and therefore varying available grazing, game species tend to lamb and calve down in synchronisation with nature. Why not attempt to do this with your cattle as well? Once the ideal or optimal breeding season is established, we must manage and supplement feed in order to get the cows to calve down early in the calving season. In order for this to happen, we must strive to shorten the intercalving period to as close as possible to 365 days. This is where pre-mating check-ups come in – by handling the uteruses and ovaries cows are stimulated to cycle. Possible infections, as well as cysts which often develop on the ovaries, can be treated.

A good record-keeping system helps us to identify unproductive and less productive animals earlier. These should be culled and be replaced by productive animals. Get rid of unproductive animals as soon as possible!

Shorten your breeding season – if bulls are left with the cows all year round, calves are being born all the time, making very difficult to administer vaccinations and carry out other

management procedures at the right times. A short breeding season leads to a longer open period post calving, during which the cows can start cycling, thereby “cleaning up” the uterus post calving and prior to the next breeding cycle. This also gives us the opportunity to vaccinate the “open cows” with live vaccines, which in many cases give a better immunity than dead vaccines. Calves born earlier in the calving season grow out better and tend to be heavier at weaning, which means improved quality and increased profits!

The longer the calving season, the bigger the age difference between the oldest and the youngest calf. This can have a marked influence on selection, especially if only phenotype is considered.

With a 90 day, or 3 month, calving season and an ADG of 800g, the weight difference between the oldest and youngest calf can be as much as 72 kg based on date of birth alone!

All calves are usually weaned on one day.

Why then not just select the heaviest calves at weaning time?

Growth traits: The traditional method for selecting replacement heifers is to pick the big ones at weaning.

Traditional selection is simple and is not necessarily all bad. If growth is needed, selection on size will provide it. The bigger heifers are generally older, and thus selection is the offspring of the earlier calving cows. It also may (or may not) select heifers of cows that produce more milk. Heavier and older heifers are more likely to cycle and breed early and be well on May 2016

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their way to having acceptable lifetime performance.

However, there are problems with the traditional method of selection.

Some of the heaviest heifers at weaning may be fat and offer the potential of poor milk production over their lifetime due to fat deposits in the udder. Some big heifers are growing fast due to an endocrine imbalance and are less fertile at breeding.

The biggest problem with traditional heifer selection is "frame creep". This is the gradual increase in mature cow size over time resulting from the use of larger frame bulls and retention of their daughters. The larger, higher maintenance dams may be too big for the feed resources. If nutrition does not change, these cows may suffer when it comes to reproduction.

Selecting heifers for heavier actual weight will generally result in a more uniform group capable of reaching pubertal weight at about the same time. As long as their sires and grandsires are not too big, there is little danger that selecting the larger heifers will cause significant "frame creep".

Be careful not to mistake frame for weight. “Framey heifers� with below average body condition may be "hard keepers" later in life.

Growth is an important trait in heifer selection, but there are other important traits which we should also take into consideration.

Frame size: Frame size will probably not be a major consideration if appropriate mature size was part of the sire selection program. However, monitoring of frame score and mature cow size is advisable to prevent "frame creep".

Yearling weights are a more accurate predictor of growth potential than weaning weights. Yearling hip heights are more accurate for predicting mature size than weaning hip height.

Heifers with the highest yearling weights tend to be the largest framed.

Maximum acceptable frame scores may need to be established to match cow size with feed resources.

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A uniform group of calves like this is any cattleman’s dream.

Next month the focus is back on cows. Meanwhile Dr Dave can be contacted by email at dave.midgley@vodamail.co.za for more information in this regard.

Frame Score Hip height (cm)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

7 months 89 94 99 104 109 114 119 124 130

12 months 99 104 109 114 119 124 130 135 140

Maturity 112 117 122 127 132 137 142 147 152

Estimated cow weight (kg) 399 433 467 499 533 567 599 633 667 May 2016

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March 2016

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Vision of the Future:

Massey Ferguson launches new implement range Massey Ferguson, a worldwide brand of AGCO (Agriculture Company), is proud to announce that it can now offer its customers a ‘one stop shop’ for all their machinery requirements by selling a complete range of MF Implements which provide a perfect fit with any Massey Ferguson tractor from 26 to 97 kW.

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he range had its first public viewing at the Vision of the Future event held in Lusaka, Zambia on 7 - 8 April 2016. It took place at the AGCO Zambia Future Farm. Visitors had the opportunity to touch and operate the latest range of MF machinery and meet different companies who are leaders in their domain of excellence in agriculture. This two-day event focused on the new generation of farmers and their crucial role in the future of African farming.

“This event is a catalyst for ideas focused on farm mechanisation as a key driver for growth in African agriculture,” says Thierry Lhotte, Massey Ferguson’s Vice President of Marketing in Europe/Africa/Middle East. “This was the biggest spectacle of MF farm machinery and agricultural services staged in Africa for many years. Our emphasis was firmly on the new generation of farmers, farm workers and agribusinesses, and their vital role in advancing the future of African farming. We have planned a really dynamic and thought-provoking experience with plenty to inform, inspire and entertain our guests,” he added.

MF tractors, harvesting machinery, implements, hay & forage tools, seeding & tillage and materials handling equipment, as well as some of the latest farming techniques to support African agriculture were seen on demonstration and display.

This new Massey Ferguson line consists of a range of more than a hundred MF agricultural implements for a variety of different applications to complement the existing range of Massey Ferguson planters and drills.

It forms part of Massey Ferguson’s strategy to be a full-line exclusive supplier in all markets.

Designed to fit any tractor from 26 to 97 kW, the MF implements are ideal partners for the MF 35, MF 200, MF 300, MF 400 up to the MF 4700, MF 5700 and MF 6700 tractor series.

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MF FD4-28 disc plough

MF TD30-26T tandem disc harrow

MF 3010 combine harvester

The range of MF implements comprises: • MF disc plough (fixed and reversible) from 2 to 5 discs • MF mouldboard plough (fixed and reversible) from 2 to 4 furrows • MF disc harrow (mounted, trailed or tandem version) from 2 to 3,5 m working width • MF tine cultivator, up to 17 tines • MF subsoiler, up to 5 legs • MF chisel, up to 3 m • MF trailers from 3 to 12 tonnes • MF transport box • MF rotary topper The MF implements are designed and constructed to the same high standards as Massey Ferguson’s superb tractors, and have been carefully selected not only to match the range of tractor power available, but also to precisely meet the farming needs of agricultural businesses in Africa and the Middle East.

Visitors to Vision of the Future were able to drive the latest range of Massey Ferguson machines, to gain an insight into product engineering and connected technological services, to spend time with field service teams and technicians on how to get the best service from machinery, and to enter conversations with key players who are shaping the future of the agricultural sector.

“Massey Ferguson has launched this range to support the development of mechanised farming through the well-known farming concept that originates from Harry Ferguson himself: Promoting not only a tractor or some implements, but a complete solution for farmers. Vision of the Future from Massey Ferguson is the perfect forum to exchange ideas, to learn from one another and to think ahead for the development of sustainable and prosperous agriculture,” said Thierry.

All AGCO products in Zambia are being distributed by BHBW. Read more about them on page 11.

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The display at Agritech followed shortly after the impressive Vision of the Future event held at the AGCO Zambia Future Farm in Lusaka, where a complete range of MF implements, providing a perfect fit with any Massey Ferguson tractors from 35 to 130 hp (26 – 97 kW), was showcased. Read more about this event on page 9.

BHBW: Showcase of technology A relative newcomer in Zambia, BHBW, used the Agritech Expo to showcase and demonstrate its large range of equipment, from its well known and reliable Massey Ferguson tractors to technologically advanced crop spraying, harvesting and tillage solutions.

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HBW was born around eight months ago as a joint venture between BayWa from Europe and Barloworld Equipment from SA. Barloworld itself has been in Zambia for around two years as distributor of AGCO-equipment, namely Massey Ferguson, Challenger, Fendt and Valtra.

Werner Kritzinger, National Sales Manager, BHBW, says they are now also acting as agents for Jupidex (for example Kverneland and McHale), Hardi and PPI Implements.

“We are building our footprint in Zambia as a relatively new company.

We are currently based in Lusaka, but will be branching out to Mkushi soon,

and then Choma and then most likely Mazabukwa. But it is important for our clients to understand that we can deliver service in all the agricultural regions and if there is a fleet of our equipment in a specific area, we will make sure that a satellite branch is established to service the fleet.”

Werner says they are not only marketing and selling equipment well suited for African conditions, they also have sufficient technical support to service machines on the farm and to supply parts within days. “We have a complete, committed service package.”

For more information on these and other all equipment solutions in Zambia, please contact Hennie Heyneke on +260-211-224919 or +260-96-109-5887 or send an e-mail to HHeyneke@bhbw.co.zm or Werner Kritzinger on +260-096-997-0276 or e-mail wkritzinger@bhbw.co.zm.

On its demonstration plot at Agritech, this parade of MF tractors came around every two hours to the great delight of spectators. Amongst the demonstration tractors were the first of the new range of 37 - 63 kW tractors especially developed for Africa and the Middle East.

One of BHBW’s advanced crop protection solutions is this self-propelled Challenger sprayer. Steven Werth demonstrates how the sensors ensure that the boom is lifted safely over all obstacles in its way.

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BHBW is now the Zambian distributor of all the equipment of the Jupidex group from South Africa. Kverneland tillage equipment such as this Qualidisc is already quite popular in Zambia where many farmers follow a double crop system which allows very little time for tillage.

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AgriTech:

A surprise around every corner

His Excellency, President Edgar Lungu, made his entrance in a John Deere tractor to open the show.

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here is nothing like an annual trade show to keep an industry alive. This is the single event where all the participants can come together to keep the blood flowing by establishing new connections, strengthening old ones and acquaint themselves with the latest trends, technology, services and products. AgriTech is all of that, but much more – it is a showcase and a symbol of Zambia as a vibrant growing agricultural hub in Africa.

This year, during the week of 14 to 16 April, more than 17 000 agriculturists descended on the GART research centre near Chisamba. This meant a visitor increase of more than 50% over last year. The business side didn’t disappoint with an increase 12

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The Czech Republic is very keen about investing in Zambian agriculture. A delegation of 13 companies, 35 people in total, accompanied the Czech Minister of Agriculture to Zambia and AgriTech to introduce themselves, their products and services to the local industry. Renier van Vuuren (left), Managing Director of Agriserve Agro, is in a serious conversation with Silvie Ginterova, Translator; Given Lubinda, Zambian Minister of Agriculture and Livestock and Marian Jurečka, Czech Minister of Agriculture. Willem van Zyl, Director of Agriserve Agro (right) explains the operation of Breeding Impulse Zambia to Dr Evelyn Nguleka, ZNFU President and President of the World Farmers’ Organization (WFO). Breeding Impulse Zambia, founded by Agriserve Agro, Breeding Co-operative Impuls and Genetic Breeders Zambia and they are the importers and distributors of Czech AI products.

from 112 to 160 exhibitors, covering the 70 000 square metres of exhibition space.

The show belongs to the ZNFU (Zambian National Farmers’ Union) and they described it as “tremendously successful”.

The other striking aspect of the show was the numerous international exhibitors. Companies from China, Switzerland, Turkey, Germany, South Africa, Zimbabwe, the Czech Republic and others came all the way to look for trade opportunities. It was quite remarkable to see how the local companies with their distribution networks and footprint in place, could step up to be the ideal partners to forge international trade agreements.

P i kM Parrick Muchimba, hi b Cl Clementt M Mafuta, f t JJamii Malyango, Alan Edwards, Rudi Koekemoer, Mwape Chibongoma, Witmore Musadere and Tanake Nguere are part of the Lindsay/Amiran team and they are ready and eager to introduce their next level pivot management systems through FieldNet and Google Earth.

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Moosa Ameen from Agrivet paid a visit to the ProAgri stall. “We are a veterinary pharmaceutical company offering a consultancy service through our four vets who are working all over the country. We also import and distribute our wide range of products for food producing animals like dairy, beef, sheep, goats and chickens,” he says. Quintus Grobler, (right) is the GM of ProAgri Zambia.

Greg Talbot is the Managing Director of Tal-Tec in South Africa. They are the suppliers of livestock handling equipment to Livestock Services. “We started exporting to Zambia in 1998 and today, Livestock Services will not disappoint a farmer when it comes to stock availability,” he says.

Falcon offers a range of 82 different implements which are distributed through AFGRI. Riël Deysel is the Area Manager for Falcon in Zambia. Their well-known products include bush cutters, haymakers, mowers, bale handling equipment, ploughs and spreaders. “We also import Amazone products, including tillage implements, sprayers, spreaders and mowers from Germany. Our most popular products in Zambia are our spreaders,” he says. The Amazone Hydro sprayer behind him was sold on the show.

Xander Pieterse is a sales consultant for ProAgri Zambia.

Left: Edward Tell and Jack Kalenga from K2 Agri introduced their latest cultivars to a crowd of interested farmers. Their latest cultivar is the KKS603, a white medium to late maturing variety. It is very sweet and therefore popular for eating as green cobs or maize meal. The cultivar stays green for longer after harvest due to its “Stay Green” gene and it also has drought resistant properties.

Bühler is a Swiss company which distributes grain handling equipment from out of the harvester, into storing, drying and into the silo. They also distribute processing equipment such as grain extruders to produce chips and porridge, and maize and wheat flour fortification dosers for healthy porridge mixes. Some of the team members are Roman Sonderegger, Sahar Nokouie Adl, Johnny Labuschagne and Lukas Armatys.

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O th l d iinto t an Over the pastt tten years, ETG d developed enterprise with five divisions and 23 stock warehouses all over Zambia. Today they are trading in exchange commodities, cash commodities, offering transport solutions, process soybeans and distribute fertiliser and agro chemicals. Andrew Lunt, Danie du Plessis, Francois Groenewald, Karthikgayan C, Ravi Verma and William Gibson are the exhibitor team of ETG and their various suppliers.

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Mathew Barkas is Territory Manager for JCB Agriculture in Southern Africa.

“We are fairly new in the market and established AFGRI as our dealer. Within four months from our entrance into the Zambian market, the orders started coming in, which I am very happy about. The farmers are very positive about JCB and the feedback is good,” he says.

Savanna Streams is a Tilapia farm and is distributing some of the best genetics in Zambia. Hosea Banda and Mister Tembo Msenze, both Aquaculturists on the farm, are flanking Quintus Grobler, GM of ProAgri Zambia.

Right: Afrivet is a company with a long and successful history. They can boast with 40 years of experience in Africa and are currently owned by Afrivet Zambia, which had a presence in Zambia for the past 15 years.

“We are wholesalers dealing with agro dealers and large scale farmers, but we shall support small scale farmers, especially with dipping programmes, Simon David Burgess, Country Manager, says. With him is Samuel Semumba, a Veterinarian, and Florence Chivembe, an Environmentalist.

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NWK has ten agricultural one-stop shops all over Zambia and is planning to expand even further across the country. “We have a very wide range of items from tools, seed and fertiliser, implements and mechanisation equipment,” Jardson Hara says. Philip Banda is the Veterinarian Client Advisor, while Jardson Hara, Edwin Mwale and Halunyona Shibuluba are Trade Centre Managers.

Agrifocus Zambia Limited has a special product for farmers who struggle with termites. The name is GuardIt and can be used in the fields to control termites as well as insects such as the diamond back moth in the garden. The very affordable product can also be placed in the foundations of buildings during pre-construction as well as post construction. The product is available in packs of 100 grams and 500 grams. Moses Sibanda is the Warehouse Assistant; Mishack Galuwane is the Technical Manager and Chanja Kumalinga is the Sales Representative.

At van Schalkwyk from World Focus uses Zambian Fertilizer to distribute his GlioGrow products from South Africa. “Our new product in Zambia is called Micronized Lime, and it includes calcite, dolomite and gypsum as a growing agent for crops. We offer advice and give technical support out of SA,” he says. Xander Pieterse (left), is a Sales Consultant at ProAgri Zambia.

Dalein Plaasbou specialises in the design and construction of agricultural processing plants. They built a revolutionary integrated pig and fish farm on Wangwa Farms close to Chisamba.

Today, Wangwa Farms are the only authorised agents to produce and market PIC Genetics in the form of gilts and semen in Zambia and surrounding countries, including Rwanda, the DRC, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Malawi and Zimbabwe. Matilda Chindale is a Gene Transfer Technician at Wangwa Farm, Stephan Heyl is the owner of Dalein Plaasbou, Colin Nel is the Zambian Sales Representative for Dalein Plaasbou and Philip Mweemba is an AI Technician on Wangwa Farm.

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Tiger Feeds keeps the poultry industry alive A fter a decade of playing the poultry game on the forefront of the industry, Tiger Feeds managed to establish a decent value chain, from the hatching of day old chicks to the mixing and distribution of feed. Since chicken and eggs are the most popular protein sources in Zambia, it is a very favourable industry for small scale farmers to venture into.

Tiger Feeds employs an astonishing 260 employees in their different divisions and sells 60 000 tons of feed a year.

“AgriTech expo has been a great exposure for us, considering that people from all around the country attended our stand. We were able to get valuable feedback on the performance of our

Xander Pieterse and Quintus Grobler from ProAgri Zambia chatting with Rowena Blanco, Nutritionist at Tiger Feeds. Bornface Tembo, Technical Advisor - Poultry is in a deep conversation with a small scale broiler producer.

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Tiger Feeds are ready to supply any farmer, big or small, with local produced feed and day old chicks. feed and chickens, as well as gaining a number of customers from the customer register which was completed. We shall definitely come back next year as we find it an effective mode of gaining small and large scale customers,” says Rowena Blanco, Nutritionist and Marketing Manager of Tiger Feeds.

Tiger Feeds mixes their feed from raw components like maize and soy beans, sourced from small scale farmers. However, the delicate premixes to satisfy the vitamin and mineral requirements of the birds in their various growth stages are imported from international and wellestablished manufacturers.

Tiger Chicks is the name of their day old broiler chick (DOC) division. “We have the capacity to produce

200 000 chicks every week. Five years ago, we introduced a new broiler breed, the Indian River, into Zambia. This is the first slow-feathering broiler bird to be bred in Africa and has the potential to reach 2,2 kilogram at 35 days (5 weeks). These results have been achieved on many of our customer farms (who use both Tiger Feed and Tiger Chicks).” Rowena says.

Tiger Feeds is your access into the poultry industry. Contact Rowena Blanco at +260-967-790-404, or +260 967-991-847, or send her an e-mail to rowena@tigerfeeds.com.zm for more information.

May 2016

19

Senter 360 offers big and small solutions

by Du Preez de Villiers Hundreds of farmers all over Africa have already secured high profits and sustainability for themselves with the Senter 360 irrigation pivot system.

J

akkie Oosthuizen and his wife travelled more than 45 000 kilometres all over Zambia during the past few years. The one thing that astonished them was the friendly, receptive and engaging attitude of the people, from grass roots up to the president.

“I believe this is ingrained in their culture and I felt safe and welcome wherever I went. If you add the long history of political stability, this country is in for the winning,” he says.

But Jakkie and his wife are not only travellers. They are on a mission to help with the massive challenges that agriculture face in Zambia. During their time in Zambia, Jakkie made an elaborate study of the agricultural possibilities in this landlocked country, and he is more than impressed.

“There are an estimate of 42 million untapped hectares of good arable land all over the country. Since the major part of the country lies between 900 and 1 200 metres above sea level, the climate is perfect for all year round crop production, where you can plant almost anything.”

Over many years, Jakkie proved himself in the South African agricul-

“I believe the difference I want to make in sub Saharan African agriculture is a calling.”

tural community, and for the last two years he employed by Senter 360. His new project is to establish this excellent pivot irrigation brand in Zambia.

Senter 360 has been in business in South Africa for 22 years, and their products are designed in Africa, for Africa, by South African engineers.

The systems are rugged and fully able to handle our harsh conditions.

“We focus on quality and functional effectiveness, which will ensure that a farmer receives value for his capital investment,” Jakkie says. The structure of their pivots is 65% stronger than the required world standard, he claims. Little wonder there are already more than 5 000 Senter 360 pivots running in more than 12 other African countries, covering more than 140 000 ha of high-yielding crops.

“This country has a close to perfect environment for pivot irrigation.

Zambia only receives rain between five and seven months of the year, but the water tables are on average only seven to fifteen metres deep in most areas, and the country has more than enough surface water.

If you add the fact that there is almost no frost in the winter months, it means that a farmer can easily harvest two to three crops per year,” Jakkie says.

He also tested the water and soil quality all over the country, even in the Copper Belt, and he couldn’t find a single drop of water that is unfit for irrigation. Another bonus is the aggressive infrastructure development by Jakkie Oosthuizen, his son, Nico, his wife, Anita the government, even in and his daughter-in-law, Chanel, will tackle the the remote areas.

Zambian challenge through teamwork.

ProAgri Zambia 07

Jakkie has big plans for Senter 360.

To prove his sincerity, he decided to settle in Zambia with his wife, son and daughter-in-law, who will help him with all the challenges in the establishment of a new company. But expanding into Zambia means nothing if you are not willing to develop local skills and talent, especially in the pivot irrigation business, because designing, selling, installing and after sales service require many able hands.

“Initially we shall establish one central service point and warehouse where a farmer can obtain all the strategic parts for his pivot. Thereafter, we aim to expand all over the country.

It is Senter 360’s policy to design and install a pivot system to suit every farmer’s particular needs, and we aim to create one-stop facilities for farmers,” Jakkie says.

Senter 360 Zambia will be fully supported by our head office and factory in South Africa,” says Theuns Dreyer, MD and owner of Senter 360.

“We are not only looking at commercial farmers, and we are investigating ideas to empower the smaller farmers into the next level of crop and pasture production.” One of Senter 360’s possibilities for smaller farmers is their water driven pivot for fields up to 3,8 ha. This is ideal for areas where power supply to the pivot itself is difficult.

For your ready-for-Africa pivot irrigation system, contact Jakkie Oosthuizen at +27-82-961-5043, +27-82-776-5973, or send him an e-mail to jakkie.senter360@gmail.com. Their user friendly website can be accessed at www.senter360.co.za.

May 2016

21

Wheat production: The use of molecular markers to assist in pre-harvest sprouting research A new biotechnology project recently commenced at the ARC-Small Grain Institute to speed up the breeding process and identify lines with potential tolerance to pre-harvest sprouting (PHS). Cultivars might show various levels of PHS from year to year. Although the project is in its initial phase, the results for the successful transfer of favourable PHS tolerance alleles into three selected South African lines are promising.

P

re-harvest sprouting (PHS) is the germination of wheat grains in the ear before harvest. Rain and prolonged moist conditions in the critical few weeks around harvest time can cause the seeds inside the heads to absorb water and begin to germinate.

This is a serious problem for farmers and can drastically reduce grain quality, which severely limits end-use applications and results in substantial financial losses to farmers and food processors.

Resistance to PHS involves an interaction between genes and the environment. This means that certain cultivars can show resistance to PHS in one year, while the resistance can be significantly lower the following year. The temperatures to which the wheat crop is exposed during the critical grain filling period may have an effect on the dormancy of certain cultivars. Dormancy is usually higher when temperatures during grain filling are low, while high temperatures during grain filling shortens the dormancy period. Therefore, cultivars which are influenced by the environment might show different levels of PHS from year to year. It was recently confirmed at the International Wheat Conference in Sydney, Australia, that high temperatures significantly influence gene expression for PHS tolerance.

22

May 2016

Pre-harvest sprouting evaluation of Tugela-DN and Elands (yellow and blue labels), the susceptible and resistant standards respectively, compared to AC Domain (white label), RL 4137 (red label) and Transvaal (green label).

Conventional wheat breeding is primarily based on phenotypic selection of individuals with high PHS tolerance.

Considerable difficulties are often encountered during this process, primarily due to these genotype-environment interactions.

Currently the most accurate test of PHS resistance is to use intact ears harvested in the field at the same stage of ripening. It is impossible to do more than one such selection per year and this makes breeding of resistant PHS cultivars a slow process. Marker assisted selection (MAS) can help alleviate these difficulties by allowing multiple cycles of selection each year.

A new biotechnology project has recently commenced at the ARC-Small Grain Institute in South Africa. In this new project, MAS is used to speed up the breeding process and identify lines with potential PHS tolerance. MAS refers to the process in which DNA markers which are tightly linked to the PHS gene are used as a substitute for phenotype based screening.

By determining the allele of a DNA marker, plants that possess the particular genes may be identified, based on their genotype rather than their

phenotype. This will greatly increase the efficiency and effectiveness for breeding compared to conventional breeding. Furthermore, selection based on DNA markers may be more reliable due to the significant influence of environmental factors on PHS. In the past decade a number of PHS tolerant QTL/genes have been identified and mapped in a number of wheat cultivars from different parts of the world. The ARC-Small Grain Institute has imported international germplasm containing selected resistant genes that confer at least 20% towards phenotypic variation for PHS tolerance.

These donors have been validated phenotypically and their PHS tolerance has been confirmed to be excellent.

The commercial cultivar, Elands, has a very similar PHS tolerance level compared to that of the well documented international donors, AC Domain and RL4137.

The international germplasm was back-crossed into South African cultivars (Figure 1) (4 x f, photographic series) in an attempt to increase the PHS tolerance of South African cultivars.

In total 31 markers, linked to different PHS genes across chromosome 2D, 3A, 3D and 4A, were screened on nine cultivars in this pre-breeding programme. From these 31 markers, eight were highly polymorphic and linked to the major PHS tolerance genes on chromosomes 3A and 4A. What is a marker?

A marker is a DNA sequence with a known location on a chromosome and associated/linked with a particular trait of interest. These DNA sequences can be detected by means of molecular biology. A DNA marker has the ability to show polymorphisms between different individuals. If the DNA marker is polymorphic between targeted individuals, it can be used to follow the specific marker allele. To detect these polymorphic alleles, the ARC-SGI make use of PCR and electrophoresis ProAgri Zambia 07

A photographic series of the crossing process followed to generate the F1 material. techniques. Through these techniques scientists can determine if the material has PHS resistance by sizing marker alleles and mobility on agarose gels.

To get the desired information, the following steps are needed: • Planting the population with PHS resistance germplasm (Figure 2a); • sampling plant tissues of seedlings for DNA extraction (Figure 2b); • extracting DNA from tissue material for each individual (Figure 2c); • preparing DNA samples for PCR and marker screening (Figure 2d); • running PCR for molecular markers associated with PHS resistance (Figure 2e); • separating PCR fragments by means of electrophoresis through agarose gels (Figure 2f); • identifying individuals that carry the desired marker alleles for PHS tolerance (Figure 3).

In Figure 3 a typical agarose gel is

shown. In Lane 1 a 100 base pair (bp) ladder, which is a standard that can be used to determine the size of marker alleles, is shown. The 300 bp allele present in the local cultivar is shown in lane 2 and the 200 bp allele present in the PHS tolerant donor is shown in lane 3. Both the 200 bp allele and 300 bp alleles must be present in the progeny (true F1s) (lanes 5 and 6 and lanes 8 to 21). Lanes 4 and 7 show plants that were allowed to self-pollinate and therefore do not carry the resistant genes.

Conclusion This project is in its initial phase and has been running for 2 years. The results for the successful transfer of favourable PHS tolerance alleles into the three selected South African lines are promising. The preliminary phenotypic results indicate that the transfer of PHS tolerance into the targeted backgrounds was successful for two of the three cultivars. This suggests that

PHS tolerance introduction has specific genetic background interactions.

The phenotypic expression of PHS resistance in the two validated backgrounds appear to be comparable with the original donor parents. Currently, these South African cultivars are already at the first back-cross stage with multiple PHS tolerance donors.

These lines will undergo MAS and only selected lines with PHS tolerance will be retained.

Looking forward, we hope to replace the multiple QTL delimitating SSR marker screening for PHS tolerance QTL/genes used with a single-nucleotide polymorphic marker (SNP) for a major PHS tolerance gene/QTL. This newly published SNP marker is a gene specific marker which was designed around common single-nucleotide mutations which have been identified in PHS tolerant and PHS susceptible wheat cultivars from around the world after targeted gene sequencing. We hope that this marker will further streamline the selection for PHS tolerance in this pre-breeding programme and will be a useful tool for breeders to select for PHS tolerant elite lines.

Ultimately, this marker technology is meant to complement the phenotypic screening and make the breeding/selection for PHS tolerance more efficient. However, the MAS work will never be able to fully replace the need for the phenotypic validation of PHS tolerance levels as a result of the significant influence the environment and genetic background have on PHS tolerance gene expression.

ProAgri acknowledges Wheat Focus and the authors, Dr Annelie Barnard and Dr Scott Sydenham - ARC-Small Grain Institute, Bethlehem – An institute of the Field Crops Division for the use of this article.

Figure 2. Sequence of events when applying marker-assisted selection (MAS).

ProAgri Zambia 07

Figure 3. Gel photo of an agarose gel for which a specific marker was used.

May 2016

23

Ocmis irrigators save harvests

The whole unit is parked at the water supply point, and the spray cart is drawn to the opposite side of the field.

“I

f it weren’t for the Ocmis irrigators, I would have had nothing.

We would have lost our farm,” says Gert Swanepoel from SchweizerReneke in the Northwest Province of South Africa. Gert and his wife had to make some difficult decisions during the ongoing drought, such as selling off all their cattle and only keeping their sheep.

One decision that proved to be spot-on was to acquire two Ocmis travelling irrigators from Irrigation Unlimited.

With the help of the two irrigators and the well-planned use of borehole water, Gert has managed to plant his peanuts for the season.

The two irrigators, an Ocmis 100/300 and an Ocmis 75/220, fitted his farming operation like a glove. The first number in die model name is the

The hose is slowly reeled in by water power to draw in the spray cart, leaving life-giving water in its wake.

diameter of the pipe and the second is the length.

They are fed directly from the borehole with a mono-pump delivering between 5,2 and 5,4 bar of water pressure, which is sufficient for the sprayers, each needing around 4,4 bar to function properly.

Gert says he was impressed from the start with all the different settings that you can use to fit your particular conditions, such as the speed at which the irrigator moves which determines the volume of water applied, the nozzle or drop size, the height and angle of spraying and the spray range.

For his big sprayer the feed line was placed in the middle of the field so that the irrigator could reach 300 metres to both sides.

The water hydrants are placed 60 metres apart, allowing for decent

overlapping leaving not a single dry spot. Every 22 hours, one man with one small tractor moves the Ocmis to the next point to repeat the process on a new strip of land. Gert says he used a pivot before, but he found that the irrigators are much better suited to his farm, as he uses less water to drive the unit, need no electricity in the field to propel the unit, and there are no wasted corners.

“Previously, I could only irrigate 22 hectares per week. Now I can manage 40 hectares at about half the capital outlay.”

Phone Tobie van den Heever of Irrigation Unlimited at +27 12-736 2121, +27 82-658-6054 or send an e-mail to tobie@iunlimited. co.za for more information.

Use PHOSTOXIN® for fumigation and gerbilles If it does not say PHOSTOXIN® PHOSTOXIN®, it is not PHOSTOXIN® • Protect you stored grain against weevil • Get rid of moles, meerkats & field mice • Degesh produces Phostoxin® • Package sizes: 90 g or 1 kg These products can be supplied to you for your mill or Silo FUMIGATION needs Contact ACE Pest Control t/a agent of DEGESCH PO Box CA80, Lusaka, Zambia Greg: +260966-430-383 / greg.geldenhuys@gmail.com or: Area Manager over Zambia in SA: Neal: +27-072-587-3583 sales5@degesch.co.za

RAT POISON (also registred for weevil)

All your Fumigation requirements available from our Agent ProAgri Zambia 07

May 2016

25

GSI TopDry: One of the most efficient methods to dry grain A valuable asset to any farmer is a grain dryer which expands the window period during which he can harvest his crops, and enables him to market his products sooner.

W

ith the GSI TopDry Grain Dryer, you get the best of both worlds – a highly efficient grain dryer with the added benefit of grain storage up to 834,58 tonnes.

Conventional grain drying is done by all heat drying and cooling. This is done in a cooling bin that has proven to be one of the most efficient ways to dry grain. With the GSI TopDry system, we go one step further by capturing the heat normally blown

Step 1: One or two fan(s) and heater(s) force hot air through an even layer of wet grain in the drying chamber directly or through ductwork.

ProAgri Zambia 07

out the top of the cooling bin and reusing it in the drying process. In addition, TopDry allows filling, drying and dumping operations to be run automatically in the AutoFlow models.

And, because TopDry is also a storage bin, one’s first or additional storage is provided.

One complete package that saves time, energy and money!

Compared to ordinary drying systems, all TopDry systems dry large

Step 2: Outside air from the cooling fan captures heat from previously dried grain and that heat and aeration air is used to help dry the next batch.

Step 3: When the column of grain has dried to a predetermined temperature, the fan(s) and heater(s) stop, and the operator manually opens the dump chutes letting the hot dried grain fall into the cooling and storage area below. The drying chamber is then manually refilled, and the operator can start drying the next batch.

volumes of grain at low airflow rates.

This allows for gentler handling that, with additional management, can even make the drying of Food Grade grain possible.

Diversity, flexibility and state-ofthe-art control make Top Dry a reliable and convenient solution for grain drying and storage.

GSI can assist you in determining your equipment needs and help you to design a system based on your particular applications and geographical conditions.

With years of experience, proven products and expert support, contact GSI South Africa, at +27 11 794-4455 or sales@gsiafrica.co.za. Also visit www.gsiafrica.co.za for more information.

May 2016

27

h n PART 5: Physical properties of soil (2) (structure) Martiens du Plessis, Soil Scientist, NWK Limited & Prof Cornie van Huyssteen, Lecturer: Soil Science, University of the Free State

Soil is the most fundamental resource for the farmer, without which food and natural fibre cannot be produced. This article forms part of a series to highlight this resource. In this article in the series, structure is discussed as one of the physical properties of soil.

What is soil structure?

Soil structure refers to the extent to which separate soil particles cling together naturally as small secondary clods, to form larger composite units.

These are called aggregates, structural units or peds. The structural units are separated from each other by weakness planes, along which the soil breaks up when it is handled.

Types of soil structure Soil structure is classified according to the shape, size, and distinctness of the aggregates. Small round structural units are called crumb structures. The structural units are usually arranged loosely together, as in loose bread crumbs, and are associated with topsoils.

When the structural units are more or less cubic, with sharp corners and clear flat surfaces, one refers to an angular block structure. When the corners are rounded, they are sub-angular blocky. These are normally found in subsoils.

Prismatic structural units are characterised by vertically oriented structural units similar to pillars. These are only found in subsoils where sodium plays a pertinent role. The tops (upper parts) are mainly flat, but when they are rounded, they are called pillars or columns.

Sometimes the structural units form thin horizontal plates and then they are referred to as layered or plate structures. They may be found in the top- or subsoils.

When the degree of structural development is poor or not at all observable, the soil structure is classified as structureless or apedal. Structureless soils can be loose (single grain) under dry conditions, or it could be a 28 May 2016

large continuous compact mass of soil without characteristic separation. In the latter case the soil is described as massif.

Origin of soil structure Structure forms when there is one or other form of binding substance present in the soil. The colloidal material in soil (clay minerals, sesquioxides and/or humus), as well as biological activities in the soil, are the active components in soil for binding.

The mechanism through which soil particles are conjugated and through which discontinuities are formed between the aggregates, are ascribed to activities that cause movement and compression in the soil mass. Growing plant roots are seen here as one of the most important factors. Soil particles are pressed against each other and the tunnels that are left behind, form weakness surfaces. The uneven withdrawal of soil moisture from the soil by roots and the uneven moisturisation through water infiltration via the root tunnels, cause uneven swelling and shrinking of the soil, leading to the formation of structure. Freezing and thawing also play a role in certain areas. In clayey soils (especially 2:1 clays), the swelling and shrinking characteristics of the clay play a major role.

Biological factors include the binding role of fine hair roots. Certain secretions of plant roots also play a role.

Hyphae bind soil particles together.

Humus serves as a binding medium of small soil particles. Certain microbes secrete glues or slimes, which cause the soil particles to stick to each other.

These glues (polysaccharides) are poorly soluble in water and maintain the structure, even though it is wetted.

Furthermore, calcium and magnesium also play a role in keeping clay minerals in the so-called flocculated state, which means that they stick together. In contrast, sodium causes the clay to disperse or deflocculate.

Stability of soil structure Stable structural units are those that are resistant to raindrop impact and remain intact even though they are wetted. When the soil is tilled and especially ploughed, the soil is excessively aerated, with the result that the microbes rapidly break down the organic material and especially the humus. This in turn leads to the decline in the stability of aggregates.

The aggregate stability of sandy soils declines faster with tilling than that in loam or clayey soils.

The addition of organic material in the uppermost layers of soil encourages microbe activity, which secretes gel and other viscose products into the soil. Secretions from plant roots have the same effect. These products bind soil particles together into water stable aggregates and even form chemical compounds with clay particles and oxides of metals, such as iron.

Hyphae will bind soil particles together within a few weeks after organic material has been added to the soil.

The advantages of soil structure The greatest advantages of soil structure may be found amongst clayey soils. Well-structured soil has a favourable ratio between macro and micro pores, with a greater number of macro pores. The effect thereof is that water infiltrates at a favourable rate, because the water in soils moves mainly into the macro pores.

Air movement also occurs mainly in these macro pores. Roots prefer to grow in the weakness levels. Densely compacted clays, in contrast, have a large number of micro pores and few ProAgri Zambia 07

beneficial for the formation of microstructure. The finely branched fibrous root system binds sand grains together and is a feeder source of organic matter for the microbes which, in turn, benefit the soil structure.

When soil is ploughed deeply with, for example, a disc plough or nardi, the subsoil which is lacking in organic material, is brought to the surface. During the first rain shower, the clods disperse and the soil is then “collapsed�. Thereafter follows wind erosion, poor water infiltration and increased runoff. When soil is ploughed, it must never be ploughed so deep that the brightly coloured red / yellow sub-soil is churned up.

Crumb structure

Block structure

Prisma structure

Summary Soil structure is one of the most noticeable physical characteristics of soil.

Clay and organic compounds are of great importance to achieve a stable structure in topsoil. Structure is of great importance for water infiltration in topsoils and the reduction of wind erosion in sandy soils. A fine crumb structure is highly beneficial to root growth. Land users must therefore encourage the formation of good topsoil structure through stover management and judicious ploughing.

Prisma structure

Plate structure

Massif

FIGURE 1: General structure types occurring in soils (Source: http:// soil.gsfc.nasa.gov/pvg/prop1.htm) macro pores. The soil then rapidly becomes waterlogged and contains little oxygen.

Soils with a poor and unstable topsoil structure are easily broken up by drops of water, forming a crust. This crust reduces gas exchange (oxygen from the atmosphere and carbon dioxide from the subsoil into the atmosphere), reduces water infiltration significantly and also hampers seedling emergence.

In sandy soils, structure is not so important to maintain macro pores, as there is naturally a greater occurrence of larger pores. Crust formation or the collapse of the soil surface is, however, of great importance. In order to limit wind erosion, a crumb structure on the surface makes the greatest single contribution to stable topsoils and is also very important to maintain a good water infiltration rate. The contribution

ProAgri Zambia 07 06

of microorganisms in this regard is of particular importance.

Management of soil structure Systems of reduced tillage, minimum tillage and zero tillage benefit the maintenance of structure in the topsoil. The reason for this is that the soil is not sufficiently aerated and the stover remains on top of the soil, where it is not broken down quite so rapidly by micro-organisms. A fine microstructure then forms in the first few millimetres of the topsoil, which virtually completely neutralises the collapse problem. The result is better water infiltration, less runoff, wetter profiles, better seedling germination, higher yields and excellent control of wind erosion.

A grass-ley crop in the form of a cover crop for a few years, is highly

References The following sources have been used extensively during the compilation of this article: Van Huyssteen, CW. 2009. Soil Ecology. Unpublished class notes for GKD214. University of the Free State, Bloemfontein.

Du T Burger, R. 1979. Soil Science 115. Unpublished class notes for GKD115. University of the Free State, Bloemfontein.

Brady, NC. 1990. The nature and properties of soils. 10th ed. Macmillan publishing company, New York.

Marshall, TJ & Holmes, JW 1979. Soil Physics. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

ProAgri Zambia acknowledges Grain SA for the use of this series which originally appeared in Afrikaans in SA Graan/Grain.

For further information, please contact: Martiens du Plessis: martiens@nwk.co.za Cornie van Huyssteen: vanhuysteencw@ufs.ac.za

April 2016 May

29

Untapped resources of wood on your land?

Trees and bushes on land to be cleared for agriculture may be a potential source of income just waiting to be exploited.

I

t often happens that land-clearing or deforestation projects on new agricultural land leave the wood largely unused. The same goes for wood sources on established farms.

If the wood can be used as timber, the farmer has a potential asset that can contribute to the farm’s income.

Just think how often you use planks on the farm for crates, pallets, building material and fences. Raw or dry timber can also be sold at a neat profit.

Why not let Wood-Mizer help you to establish a sawmill or factory on the farm to convert raw wood into processed timber or even products that can be used or sold?

The use of land-cleared timber or other sources of wood on farms should also form part of a sustainability plan.

Poorly planned land-clearing projects not adding value to the material and also not taking into account the

ProAgri Zambia 07

Wood can be an untapped resource just waiting to be explored.

impact of large land-clearing on the long term potential of the land, is not sustainable.

Unutilised land-cleared material not only means less money in the pocket, but it can also contribute to the spreading of pests and pathogens, change the soil structure and even contribute to large scale bush invasion exercising an influence on the long term economic viability of the farm.

Wood-Mizer’s series of sawmills have proven themselves in Africa.

They are tough and reliable and they can help to generate more income out of a resource that is often ignored.

Please visit www.woodmizerafrica.com to look at Wood-Mizer’s series of sawmills and solutions for Zambia.

May 2016

31

2012 Claas Tecano 480 E 1600 R 1300 met S 750 tafel ingesluit R 2 280 000-00 Wimpie Nel 082-719-3012

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Lusitu Drilling & Exploration Ltd

- Drilling of 6½” to 12” Dia Bore wells - Water Boreholes Drilling (up to 300mts) - Mines Drilling - Installation of Hand Pumps & Submersible pumps - Geological Survey Contact Details : 097-420-0197 / 096-291-5901 / 095-460-7373 Email: obbymweemba@gmail.com Address: Plot No. 2280 Rhodespark along Great East Road, Qnet Building, Opposite Northmead Bus Station ProAgri Zambia 07

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OMKAR CONSTRUCTION LTD “We hire earthmoving machines and we do land clearance, bush clearance, fish ponds and all kind of construction works”

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Plot # 9067, Katanga Road, off Mumbwa Road, Lusaka or contact us at 097-453-8887 or 097-549-3156

Maheer Auto Limited

Crank sha grinding, building, straightening, Cylinder head skimming, pressure tes ng, cam bush ďŹ ng, boring, drilling holes, grinding valves lapping, refrace valve seats, block resleaving, lilline ine boring borrin ng conrod, con co nrrod, n od, standardizing... od s reboring,, lin

Address : Plot # 1676, ChiďŹ nga Rd. Opposite Bosch Diesel, Lusaka.

Contact: Mr Faizan 097-114-7233 or 096-689-6234 40

May 2016

ProAgri Zambia 07