Precision agriculture is the future

ZAMBIA’S agricultural future lies beneath our feet. For decades, farmers have been expected to produce more food, feed a growing population and contribute to national economic growth, often without one of the most basic pieces of information they need. What is actually in the…

ZAMBIA’S agricultural future lies beneath our feet. For decades, farmers have been expected to produce more food, feed a growing population and contribute to national economic growth, often without one of the most basic pieces of information they need.

What is actually in the soil they cultivate? That is beginning to change. For too long, fertiliser application has been driven by a broad, one-size-fits-all approach, despite the fact that soils differ significantly from one region to another. What works well in one area may not deliver the same results elsewhere.

Farmers have consequently spent money on inputs that do not always match the needs of their land, contributing to disappointing yields and unnecessary costs. The national soil sampling and mapping exercise being undertaken by the Ministry of Agriculture, with support from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), therefore deserves serious attention.

Thousands of soil samples are being collected and analysed across the country to establish a detailed picture of Zambia’s soil resources. This is more than a scientific exercise. It is an investment in the future of agriculture.

The information generated must now be turned into practical solutions for farmers. Fertiliser manufacturers should use the findings to produce blends that respond to the specific nutrient requirements of different regions.

A farmer in Luapula should not necessarily be using the same fertiliser formulation as a farmer in Southern Province simply because both grow maize. The same principle applies to crops. Not every crop performs equally well in every type of soil.

Some soils are better suited to groundnuts, others to rice, maize, soya or wheat. Understanding these differences can help farmers make better decisions about what to plant, how to manage their fields and which inputs to use.

This is what precision agriculture should mean for Zambia: less guesswork, better decisions and more value from every hectare. The stakes are high under Grow Zambia being championed by President Hakainde Hichilema.

Zambia is pursuing ambitious production targets for maize, wheat, soya and other crops. These targets cannot be achieved simply by putting more fertiliser into the ground or expanding cultivated land.

Productivity must rise, and productivity begins with understanding the land. Better soil information can also help address one of agriculture’s persistent problems: the high cost of inputs. Farmers should not be spending scarce resources on fertilisers that are poorly matched to their soils.

Applying the right nutrients in the right quantities can improve yields while reducing waste and the environmental damage associated with over application. The benefits will extend well beyond the farm.

If local fertiliser manufacturers respond to the soil data by producing region-specific blends, the exercise could stimulate investment in local manufacturing and reduce dependence on imported products.

Increased agricultural production could, in turn, provide more raw materials for agro-processing, creating opportunities to produce flour, cooking oil and other value added products locally. That is how a soil map can become an economic map.

The initiative also fits squarely into the broader ambition of transforming agriculture from a largely subsistence activity into a productive and commercially viable sector capable of driving national growth.

But producing soil maps will not, by itself, transform agriculture. The real test will be what happens after the samples have been analysed and the maps produced. Fertiliser companies must use the findings.

Extension officers must translate scientific information into simple and practical advice that farmers can understand and apply. Farmers must have access to the right inputs and the knowledge to use them effectively.

Policymakers must ensure that the information gathered does not simply sit in offices and on shelves. As the exercise moves into Northern, Muchinga and Luapula provinces, the momentum must be sustained.

The target of completing the national soil maps by May 2027 should be treated not as the end of the exercise, but as the beginning of a more informed era in Zambian agriculture. For too long, we have asked our farmers to produce more without giving them enough information about the land on which they depend.

That is no longer good enough. We are glad to see Government move from generic solutions to precision farming, from input-driven agriculture to knowledge-driven agriculture, and from simply cultivating more land to producing more from the land we already have. The soil has always been speaking.

We are finally learning to listen. And if we use that knowledge wisely, the reward will not only be bigger harvests. It will be greater food security, stronger agro processing, more jobs, reduced imports and a more productive agricultural economy. The future of Zambia’s agriculture is in the soil. The task now is to turn what we learn from it into prosperity. https://enews.daily-mail.co.zm/welcome/home