TRENCH COMPOSTING

Many of you like to compost. Perhaps you have a large bin composter that turns your kitchen scraps into black gold for the garden, or you have designated compost piles. But if you don’t have the room or don’t want the sight of it, dig a trench and bury your compost pile underground. Earthworms and micro-organisms in the soil convert the organic matter into nutritious plant food.

Brad Bergefurd is a horticulture Extension educator at Ohio State University. He says there is more than one way to do trench composting.

“You can do one long trench throughout the entire garden. It takes up a lot of space, but that’s one method,” he says. “Another method is where you just do spot trench composting. That’s where you use a posthole digger and dig down 18 to 24 inches in a round circle, usually between the plants in the garden. That’s also where you’d do your trench composting so it doesn’t take up a large part of the garden.”

You can toss in a lot of items that can’t go in an above-ground compost pile, such as pet waste, citrus peels, and things that wildlife and critters would otherwise get into. 

“You can bury those different waste products 18 to 24 inches deep. The soil that you’ve taken out of the trench can be piled back on top,” says Bergefurd. “You can add a layer of straw to speed up the composting process, but within a couple of months, you can usually go ahead and plant right back into that trench you’ve composted in.”

Plants get the nutrition right where they need it – at the root zone. The root system also becomes stronger because it reaches down deep to find the nourishing material.

It’s important, however, to wait those two to three months before planting anything directly over the trench. That’s because the composting process produces heat, and you would risk injuring the plant roots, Bergefurd says.

source: successful farming

CROP INSURANCE RULES FOR COVER CROPS

Kevin Glanz had planted cereal rye into soybean stubble on his farm near Manchester, Iowa, for four years when he decided to try something new in 2016. At trade shows in Minnesota, he learned of farmers’ success interseeding cover crops into standing corn in early summer. 

So last year, he decided he’d try a mix that included legumes and brassicas. He would have his co-op seed the cover while applying urea to his corn at the five- to six-leaf stage. The cover would have time to get established before going dormant under the corn canopy.

It seemed like a good plan, until he told his crop insurance agent about it on March 30, 2016. Within hours, his crop insurance company threatened to void his coverage. “I got no help from my insurance agent. He sided with the company,” recalls Glanz.

Glanz was caught in apparent confusion in the industry about changes in the USDA Risk Management Agency’s rules for good farming practices with cover crops. Cover crops had to be seeded after the insured crop reached physiological maturity until 2014, when RMA revised its rules to allow earlier planting “as long as the cover crop is seeded at a time that will not impact the yield or harvest of the insured crop.”

Glanz went ahead with his plans. He got support from the regional RMA office in Minneapolis, which contacted his insurer. But he had to endure a “quality control audit” of three visits to his farm and detailed record keeping of herbicide treatments. 

All the while, he risked a protracted dispute with his insurer if he had a crop-loss claim. He didn’t. "It basically boiled down to no claim, no problem,” he says.

Sarah Carlson, Midwest cover crop director for Practical Farmers of Iowa, says not all crop insurers accept RMA rules on earlier seeding. “RMA says this is OK, and the science says this is OK.” 

In the Midwest, 15 days after planting the corn or soybeans seem to be enough of a head start before seeding cover crops, and the earliest farmers are trying it at about 30 days after planting, she says. “It’s the industry that’s not following the rules.”

She advises farmers who plant cover crops to check with their insurance agent before trying new practices. Meanwhile, Glanz is looking for a different crop insurer.

Armyworm infestation threatens crops in Zimbabwe

After two years of drought, incessant rains in most parts of Zimbabwe had raised hope that food shortages would be eased, but the outbreak of armyworms now raises a new threat to the crops, especially the country’s staple food – Maize.

Farmers in Zimbabwe fear that President Robert Mugabe’s government is taking too long to provide pesticides and education to deal with the pest which might prolong the country’s food shortages.

One of the farmers in Mazowe District about 50 miles north of the country’s capital Harare, Tatenda Mapfumo has appealed to the government and fellow farmers to fight the worm targeting his crops.

“I would want to tell the minister of agriculture in Zimbabwe to control the worm. They shouldn’t take it for granted. It will actually reduce our yield,” he said.

He also expressed that he lacks the money needed to buy enough pesticides to fight the outbreak.

Deutsche Welle reports that the armyworm got its name because the invasive species travels in “armies” and consumes everything in its path.

Some experts however believe that the armyworm might have come into Zimbabwe through food importation.

Zimbabwe, once the breadbasket of southern Africa, is largely dependent on food assistance due to the 2015-2016 drought caused by the El Nino weather phenomenon. This has been coupled with the chaotic land-reform program that removed white commercial farmers from their land.

Reports from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations had earlier indicated that about one million people will need food assistance in Zimbabwe until March when the harvest season begins. But with the spread of the armyworm, that assistance may need to be extended.

However, the FAO Sub-regional Coordinator for Southern Africa, Chimimba Phiri has assured the Zimbabwean farmers that the FAO will ensure that the problem of armyworm would not have an impact on the issue of food insecurity.

“Communities and farmers that notice something strange should report it so that action can be taken as soon as quickly as possible, otherwise there is a contagion spreading from farm to farm and eventually from country to country,” he said.

Phri pointed that the armyworm species called “Fall” was first seen in Nigeria.

“The problem with the FALL armyworm is that it is not easily controllable with chemicals unless it has been identified on a farm an early stage,” he said.

The United Nations however reports that the armyworm is now also being reported in Zambia and Malawi.

5 technologies that can transform Smallholder farmers’ Lives

One of the agreements reached at the World Economic Forum annual meetings held in Davos recently, was the need for governments across the world to take agriculture seriously to ensure sustainable supply of food for the growing mass of people in the world.

Majority of the poor people in the world reside in rural areas, with agriculture as their main source of livelihood. For instance, In Africa, over 80 per cent of our farmers are smallholders and they produce 70 per cent of the continent’s food. 

Developing the potential through technology to increase the productivity and incomes for smallholders crop production systems will be the basis to achieving global food security in the coming years as traditional methods of farming continually proves  insufficient to meet this increased demand for food.

Here are five technologies with potentials to connect smallholder farmers to new resources, information, knowledge and markets.

• The Internet

Internet is today one of the most important parts our daily life.  The internet does not only make our tasks easier but also saves a lot of time. A United Nations report reveals that 55 per cent of the world’s people remain offline and are unable to take advantage of the enormous economic and social benefits the internet can offer. Also large majority of smallholder farmers live in remote areas, where good, fast internet connectivity reaches less than 30 per cent of the population.

Increased internet connectivity will help farmers access vital information on how to  operate more efficiently ,  equipment purchases,  ensure high crop yields,  soil mapping, plant health and effective farm animal management.

• Mobile devices and platforms

It is becoming increasingly apparent that cash payment schemes are archaic in the 21st century. Mobile payment to farmers can be economically viable for value chains with expected and high volume transactional activity.  Through mobile devices and platforms, farmers would have greater safety and security because they would no longer have to carry large amounts of cash after selling their harvest.

More so, majority of smallholder farmers especially those in the rural areas are illiterates and unaccustomed with the numerous forms required to open bank accounts, which most times are not even located close to them. When these farmers are properly trained on how to make use of mobile financial services, it would serve the entire financial needs for them including expenses for agricultural inputs which would later lead to high productivity.

• Electricity

According to the World Bank, there about 1.3 billion people without reliable power sources globally, most of them in Africa and Asia. This translates into 600 million people – 70 percent of the population of Sub-Saharan Africa – without electricity, which is critical in powering water supplies, telecommunication services amongst others.  Electricity is central to the broader development of agriculture anywhere in the world. Without stable electricity, it is unlikely for the agricultural sector to experience a significant development.

With constant electricity supply, smallholder farmers can run cleaner irrigation systems, use processing machines, improved efficiencies in land preparation, planting and harvesting.   All of these would massive increase their yields and income.

• Unique identifiers

A unique identifier (UID) is a numeric or alphanumeric string that is associated with a single entity within a given system.

UIDs are already in use in developed countries and it plays a vital role in the lives of people. For example, when you log on to Amazon.com, the site knows who you are and what you have bought before. Unique identifiers, along with satellite imaging technology, would enable relevant agricultural agencies to collect data about farmers; where they live, how much land they cultivate, what they grow, what inputs they use, how much they yield, etc. For instance, the eWallet system in Nigeria has enabled the government to identify and deliver input subsidies directly to farmers based on personal and biometric information provided by smallholder farmers.

For unique identifiers to improve farmers’ lives, data systems must be able to guarantee that data remains anonymous for the privacy and security of individuals. And with more than 40 million transactions through the mobile wallet system in just two years, it’s clear that smallholder farmers anywhere can adopt digital financial services more broadly.

• Geospatial analysis

It is a farming concept that utilizes geographical information to determine field variability to ensure optimal use of inputs and maximize the output from a farm. Large tracts of land usually have spatial variations of soils types, moisture content, and nutrient availability and so on.

If smallholders farmers adopt the use of Geospatial analysis, it would enable them generate up to date aerial and satellite photographs of their farm during different periods of the year or seasons. With this information, the farmer is able to determine the productivity of different management zones. At the same time, the growth and yield patterns of different zones within the farm can also be identified.

Although some of these technologies are still relatively new and may be alien to smallholder farmers, it is therefore imperative for government, and relevant agencies to ensure they are not left behind in this global trend. This is necessary, as digital infrastructure remains a crucial tool for smallholder farmers to access and create tools that empower them to make decisions about their farms and businesses.

E-WALLET AGRIC PROGRAMME BEST WAY OF ENHANCING FARMING, SAYS DOGUWA

The Chief Whip of House of Representatives, Alhaji Alhassan Ado Doguwa has described the federal government’s E-Wallet Agricultural programme as the best way of enhancing commercial farming in the country.

Doguwa, who disclosed this in Kano during an oversight function visit to Warawa local government area of Kano state, called on Nigerian farmers to support the programme with a view to boosting their production.

He said: “The programme was introduced to support farmers enhance their farming activities and from what we have seen the programme is yielding positive results.”

He appealed to the federal government to sustain the programme, as according to him it has positive impact on Nigerian farmers.

Also speaking, Chairman, House Committee on Appropriation, Alhaji Mustapha Bala Dawaki, said the programme has encouraged many farmers across the country to embrace commercial agriculture.

“We will continue to support this programme at the National Assembly so that our farmers would gain more benefits from it. As representatives of our people, we will ensure that the federal government improves on this programme,” he said.

Earlier, a member, House Committee on Agriculture, Alhaji Munnir Babba Dan’Agundi, expressed delight on farmers turn out at the screening exercise.

Dan’Agundi said over 200 farmers have been screened in Warawa local government area and out of figures 30 farmers have collected their agricultural package that include urea, NPK and organic fertilizers, as well as seed and micro nutrient valued at N41, 750.

He said the lawmakers were in Warawa local government as part of their oversight visit to constituencies to assess the programme, saying “we are assessing successes and challenges of the programme.”

He said that the lower chamber of the National Assembly would ensure that all challenges affecting the programme are addressed before the next farming season.