Farmers advised to test soil before planting
A soil expert at Lunyangwa Research Station in Mzuzu, Tisungane Mughandira, has advised farmers to take soil samples from their gardens for tests at their respective research stations to determine the right fertilisers or manure to boost soil nutrients.
He said soil tests can also help boost production even in the face of declining soil fertility and climate change variability.
Mughandira made the remarks during a media tour on Wednesday.
The tour was a follow-up to the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (Ticad) held in Nairobi, Kenya, and the Sustainable Land Management Promotion (SLMP) project implemented in Mzuzu Agricultural Development Division (Mzadd).
SLMP is an initiative of Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) and Malawi Government to advance the use of manure to achieve sustainable agriculture production while reversing land degradation and mitigating effects of climate change among farmers under Mzadd.
Said Mughandira: “Farmers are advised to take their soil samples to a research station for tests so that a correct choice is made as regards the type of nutrients one needs to add in case of deficiencies.”
Maria Tchuwa, a smallholder farmer from Kamzunguzeni Village in Traditional Authority (T/A) Mtwalo in Mzimba, described the SLMP as a gateway towards addressing food insecurity using locally available resources. n
