Mzuzu University soil scientist Professor Elijah Wanda has observed that extensive soil amendment using locally found nutrition products can transform most of the country’s depleted soil fertility.
Prof Wanda has said this following a study conducted under the Centre for Agricultural Transformation (CAT), an agricultural technologies advocate says their research in one of the fields at the Natural Resources College (NRC), found that the acidity of Malawi’s soil is low and has been denying plants basic nutrients available in the soil.
He observed: “We analysed 23 parameters based on the nutrients which were in the samples we corrected, we observed that the soils were a bit acidic, and issues salinity as there was low soil PH and also low organic matters in the soils.”
CAT executive director Mcleod Nkhoma has indicated that the outcome of the study is a result of his consortium observation that despite championing agricultural technologies, farmers have been producing low yields due to poor soil health.
Nkhoma has also commended the University scientists for bridging the gap in knowledge on the continued crop resistance despite different measures in place to improve agricultural productivity.
“Our primary key focus in the initiative was to see how our farmers can improve their soils to maximise their productivity,” he stressed.
Nkhoma added that before the observation farmers engaged on their demonstration farm through the new technologies, and saw that soils were degraded, and yields were extremely low.
Meanwhile, vice president of Foundation for Smoke Free World, Dr. Candida Nakhumwa agrees with the sentiments made by Wanda and Nkhoma on soil amendments saying if Malawi is to attain the first pillar in its 2063 vision blueprint which stresses the need for agricultural integration and commercialisation, the country should intensify its productivity and employing new farming innovations.
She said: “In the past farmers were growing but failed short of paying much attention to increasing their productivity, you will find that farmers are yielding less than 40 percent of the potential of those crops. If we increase productivity, that is when we will have surplus production and take it to market in commercialisation.”
In her remarks, Programmes Manager for Lilongwe ADD Sheila Kang’ombe said soil amendment is one solution to unlock the country’s potential.
“Issues of soil health are important. We are losing a lot of soil fertility due to climate change, so what CAT is doing is in line with what the Ministry of Agriculture is encouraging by encouraging farmers to use local means to improve soil fertility,” she said.
