Farmers warned not to expect bumper yields with less fertilizer

“When farmers are applying less than four 50-kilogram bags of fertilizer per hectare, mainly because they want to use minimal amounts so that they can apply it on a larger area, it becomes difficult to achieve the higher yields that we expect from those fields,” he said.

Meanwhile, Dr. Bulaya said the high cost of fertilizer remains a major challenge because farmers may have access to the inputs but cannot afford to apply them at levels that can support higher productivity.

“If we lower the cost of these inputs, our farmers can utilize them effectively and increase the application, because fertilizer and seed may be available in the country, but the prices are beyond the reach of many smallholder farmers,” he said.

Dr. Bulaya told ZBT that increasing fertilizer application should therefore be accompanied by proper agronomic practices and attention to soil health if farmers are to achieve substantially higher yields from their fields.

“Farmers need to understand that higher production requires proper agronomic practices, and fertilizer application must be adequate and informed by the condition of the soil and the requirements of the crop,” he said.

Article by Philip Sinkala