TOPIC 1: PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF SOIL  When rubbed it is partially smooth nor

cracking noise
List of physical properties of soil
 It is partially shiny
 Soil texture
Determining soil texture
 Soil structure
 Soil colour  There are many ways in which the amount
 Soil temperature of sand, silt and clay in a soil can be
 Soil consistency found/estimated
 Soil porosity  Among the many ways are
 Soil depth
i. Feel method
Soil texture
ii. Sieving method
 Soil texture refers to the degree of coarseness
iii. Sedimentation method
or fineness of the soil particles
 This is due to the presence of the three soil i. Feel or Bing Method
particles; sand, silt and clay
 Soil texture can therefore be defined as  This is one of the mechanical methods of
proportion of the three soil particles in a soil estimating the amount of sand, silt and in a
 Proportion can be interchanged by soil.
-percentage
-ratio Materials needed
-amount i. Soil samples (15-20g)
-quantity ii. Water
iii. Containers
Mineral composition of soil iv. Pet dishes
Procedure
a. Sand 1. Collect a soil sample approximately about 15-
 It is one of the rock particles that make up 20g.
soil in terms of size. Sand is the largest of 2. Put the collected soil sample between your
the three thumb and the forefinger and rub it
 Sand particle range from 0.02cm to 2mm
in diameter Expected results
 Sand particles can also be characterized by  If the soil sample is very rough this means
(i) Not sticking to finger that the soil has plenty of sand
(ii) It produces cracking noise when  If the soil is very fine, the soil has
rubbed abundant clay.
(iii) Feel very rough when rubbed. 3. Add a few drops of water to the soil sample
b. Clay and rub it.
 This is the smallest of the three. Clay  If the soil sample is very sticky soil is
particles are smaller than 0.002m in made up of clay particles
diameter  If soil sample partially sticks is made up
 Clay particles are very stick either when of silt.
wet or dry when rubbed; they are very  If soil sample does not stick, soil is made
smooth if dry. up of sand.
 Rubbing wet clay particles them becomes 4. Try to mould a ball
shiny(polishing)  If you make ball and does not break, the
soil is clay
c. Silt
 Silt is the medium of the three
 It partially sticks either when wet or dry
Page 1 of 65
  If you make a ball but breaking in the
course of rounding it the soil has plenty
of silt.
 If you fail to make a ball the soil is made
up of sand
5. Try to make a rod
 If you succeed to make a rod without
breaking the soil is made up of clay
 If you succeed to make up a rod but only a
short one the soil is made up of silt.
 With sand you cannot make any rod

Sedimentation method

It is aimed at showing that the soil is made up of

different sized particles. Observations
Apparatus/materials needed i. The soil particles settled in different
 50g of garden soil depending on particle size
 Water ii. Gravel settles at the bottom, followed
 Sodium carbonate by coarse sand, fine sand, silt and clay.
 Stop watch iii. Humus is suspended on the water
 250cm3 measuring cylinder surface

Procedure Conclusion

i. Put 50g of soil sample in a 250cm3 Soil is a mixture of different particle size, i.e., mineral
measuring cylinder particles.
ii. Add about 5-10g of sodium carbonate Textural classes of soil
powder
 To help breakdown the soil clods  Sandy soil
further  Loam soil
iii. Add about 150cm3 of water  Clay soil
iv. Cover the mouth of the cylinder with
your palm, while holding its bottom Soil Triangulation
with the other hand and shake the
Silt, clay and sand in the soil can be presented as
content thoroughly or vigorously
percentages in a triangular manner.
v. Leave the content to settle for about 30
minutes. Importance of Soil Triangulation

 It helps to identify various combinations of

clay, silt and sand
 It helps to know the amounts of the various
particles in a given soil sample.

Page 2 of 65
 SET UP

Observations

i. Observe water drains and stops coming

through
How to use the Soil Triangle ii. After 5 minutes, water levels in different
measuring cylinders vary/differ
1. First, look at the orientation of the percentages iii. Water level is the highest in the measuring
on the sides of the triangle. cylinder with sandy soil, followed by loamy
2. To classify a soil sample, find the intersection soil and least in the measuring cylinder with
of the three lines that correspond to three clay soil.
properties iv. After 10-15 minutes, measure and record the
3. On the chart all of the percentages will add up amount of water that drained through each of
to 100%. the soil samples
v. Calculate the amount of water held by sand,
Note: Two intersecting lines can also be drawn and
clay and loam by subtracting the amount of
used to classify a soil sample.
water drained from 50ml of water that was
Comparing the different classes of soil based on poured/added into each funnel
texture
Conclusion
Materials
 Sandy soils have highest drainage, but lowest
 Three measuring cylinders water holding capacity
 Three funnels  Clay soil has the highest water holding
 Three different soil samples; sandy, clay and capacity, and poor drainage
loam soil (sun dried). Each sample weighing  Loam soils have moderate drainage and
20g moderate water holding capacity
 150ml of water
 Stop watch/clock
 Cotton wool/filter paper

Method

1. Set up three measuring cylinders with funnels

2. Take the weighed 20g of each soil sample and
put in the funnels of the measuring cylinders
3. Add 50ml of water into each of the funnels

Page 3 of 65
Characteristics of different soils based on texture soils with highest water retention (clay
soils)
Type of Characteristics iv. It affects nutrient holding capacity of the
soil
soil/fertility
Sandy  Particles are loosely packed and so
have a lot of air spaces  Good textured soils must be able to supply
 Well aerated nutrients to growing plants
 Dry up easily (hold very little water)  Light textured soils are prone to erosion
 Crops easily wilt during dry season and encourages leaching of the plant
or drought nutrients
 Easy root growth
v. Determines soil aeration and drainage
 Easy to cultivate
 Well-drained  Well drained and aerated soil is necessary
 High leaching rate for crop production, e.g., loam soils
Clay  Particles are tightly held together  Well aerated soils enable microorganisms
 Poorly aerated responsible for decomposition of organic
 Poorly drained (drains very slowly) matter to thrive well
 Can easily become waterlogged
vi. It influences the ease with which the soil is
 Holds a lot of water
 Becomes sticky when wet and hard cultivated
when dry  Soils must be easily cultivated at different
 Heavy to work on moisture contents (consistencies)
 Roots find it difficult to penetrate  Clay soils are had to work with unlike
Loam  Even mixture of sand, silt and clay sandy soils
 Has all good properties of sandy and vii. It determines roots penetration into the soil
clay soils
 Well aerated  Good textured soil must allow easy root entry
 Well drained and growth
 Holds large amounts of water viii. It influences organic matter content in the soil
 Contains a lot of plant nutrients  Loamy soils have high organic matter content,
 Crops grow well which is essential for crop growth and
 Easy to cultivate
development (upon their decomposition)

Soil structure
Effects of soil texture on crop production
Definition
i. It influences resistance to erosion
 Sandy soil is easily eroded  It is the physical appearance of the soil in
ii. It influences the type of crop to be grown, e.g., relation to the way the soil particles are
 Tobacco grows well in well-drained grouped or arranged
sandy/clay loam soil  It is the way individual soil particles are
 Maize grows well in well-drained loam soil arranged or packed together to form
 Cassava grows well in well-drained, rich, aggregates or collections
sandy loam soil. However it can tolerate poor
soils Agents of soil structure
 Cotton grows well in rich, sandy loam soil
 Humus (organic matter)
 Groundnuts, beans and soya beans require
 Colloids (clay)
sandy or light loam soil
 Rice grows well in rich heavy clay soils Types of soil structure
which retain a lot of water
iii. It influences water holding capacity/water 1. Single-grained structure
retention of the soil  soil particles are cemented together
 Determines type of crop to be  particles are tiny and spherical
grown/cultivated, e.g., rice grows well in  prone to wind erosion
 not very suitable for crop production

Page 4 of 65
2. Crumby structure
 Consists of tiny, porous aggregates of
irregular shapes
 Gives rise to stage of aggregation
 from single-grained structure
 few particles are joined together
 One of the best soil structures for crop
production
 Particles allow air spaces
3. Granular structure
 granules made of friable (easily broken
up), rounded aggregates of irregular
shapes
 normally found in the top layer of the
cultivated soils
 aggregates are loosely packed
4. Prismatic structure
 Soil particles are cemented in the form of
vertically oriented pillars
Methods of maintaining and improving soil
 Particles are prism-like
structure
5. Columnar structure
 Soil aggregates are vertically arranged, 15
cm or more in diameter
 Rounded tops and cylindrical
6. Platy/pyramidal/plate-like structure
 Arranged in thin horizontal layers called
plates
 Plates overlap each other
 Poor for crop production
 Due to poor root penetration
7. Blocky structure
 Soil aggregates are arranged in rectangular
blocks
 Because they easily fit together
8. Cuboidal structure
 Blocks have six irregular faces
 Confined to sub soils
Effects of soil structure on crop production
1. It influences air circulation in the soil
 Single-grain structured soil allow better
movement of soil air for plant roots to
respire than platy soils
2. It influences water-holding capacity of the
soil
 Crumb structures hold water for plants to
use while single-grain and granular
structures lose water more readily through
seepage
Page 5 of 65
3. It affects microbial activities in the soil
 Crumb structures have a better environment
for micro-organisms to live, and work more
actively to decomposition of OM to release
nutrients for plant growth than single grain
structures
4. It affects soil cultivatibility
 Granular structures are more workable than
platy structures
5. It affects nutrient retention
 Crumb structures reduce the rate of
leaching of minerals salts while single grain
structure lose nutrients through leaching
more easily
6. It affects root penetration and development
 Platy structures hinder root development
while single grain structures facilitate root
development
1) Application of organic manure and inorganic
fertilizers
 To bind loose soil particles together
 Improves water holding capacity
 Improves microbial activities in the
soil
 To loosen tightly packed soil particles
 Improves soil aeration and drainage
2) Tilling the soil at the right moisture
content/consistency
 Enables breakdown of large soil clods
without clodding or padding
 Ensures that soil particles are not broken
down
3) Crop rotation
 Should include cover crops to reduce
chances of splash erosion
 Fibrous rooted crops help to bind soil
particles together
4) Cover cropping
 Prevents splash erosion
 Increases water infiltration
5) Minimum tillage
 Helps to prevent over pulverization of soil
 Which makes it liable to soil erosion
 It also reduces moisture loss
6) Mulching
 Improves nutrient status of the soil upon
their decomposition
  Reduces soil erosion
 Helps to cement together the loose soil
particles upon decomposition of the mulch
7) Fallowing/land rotation
 Helps the soil to rebuild itself, i.e.,
destroyed soil structure is given time to
recover
8) Liming
 Helps in improving drainage and aeration
of heavy soils through flocculation
9) Using machinery properly
 To prevent heavy machinery drawn by
tractors from damaging soil structure
 Excessive cultivation can also damage soil
structure
10) Avoiding overgrazing
 Reduces chances of soil erosion
 Moving animals through their hooves also
destroy soil structure
Soil colour
Definition: It refers to the appearance of the soil.
Effects of soil colour on crop production
 Soil can be described as:
Black or dark or dark grey, dark-brown
Red or reddish brown
Yellow yellowish brown or orange
Light or white or whitish grey
Factors that influence/determine soil colour
1. Nature and abundance of iron
 Iron in its various forms, e.g., iron oxide
or yellow oxide imparts red, yellow, grey
and bluish-grey colours
 In waterlogged soils, iron in unoxidised
form gives grey, green, bluish-grey
colours
 In well-drained soils or under dry
conditions, iron forms red oxides
imparting a red colour to the soil
2. Moisture content
 Soil colour darkens as the soil changes
from dry to moist
3. Aeration and drainage
 Poorly drained or waterlogged soil looks
greyish in colour
 Such soils are poorly aerated
 Well-drained soil is usually brown, red or
yellow in colour.
4. Presence and amount of organic matter
Page 6 of 65
 Dark or black soils contain a lot humus
(organic matter)
5. Type of parent material (mineral matter)
 Red, yellow or brown soil contains soil a
lot oxide
 Soils with glittering appearance contain
mica
 A soil rich in silica/quartz is whitish or
greyish-white in colour
Soil colour indications
Soil colour What colours indicate
Yellow and grey Soil is poorly drained and
suffers from prolonged
water-logging
Brown to black Soil is well-drained with
some degree of organic
matter
Red Presence of iron oxide
White Heavy presence of silica
(quartz) or salts
1. It indicates level of organic matter content in the
soil
 The darker the soil, the greater the organic
matter content which releases plant nutrients
suitable for plant growth and development
2. It indicates level of soil fertility
 Dark soils indicate presence of organic matter
which is rich in plant nutrients suitable for
crop production
3. It indicates suitability of soil for specific crops
 Greyish or yellowish soils indicate that they
are waterlogged which will the help the farmer
to decide on the most suitable crop to be
grown, e.g., rice
4. It indicates agricultural limitations of the soil
 Grey soils due to water-logging help the
farmer to decide on the measures to take to
make the soil more productive for crops
5. It indicates heat absorption capacity of the soil
 The darer the soil, the greater the amount of
heat absorbed from the sun
 This supports microbial activity and plant
growth
6. It indicates nature or type of mineral elements in
the soil
 Red soils show presence of lots of iron oxides
 Iron is useful for plant growth
  It affects photosynthetic rate in crops Ways of maintaining/improving/modifying soil
temperature
How soil colour can be maintained or improved
1. Mulching
(i) Adding organic manure  To keep the soil temperature in check
(ii) Draining the soil (regulates-reduces/minimises)
 Especially in hot areas
Soil temperature 2. Planting vegetative cover
 Reduces or keeps the soil cool in very hot
Definition: It is the coldness or hotness of the soil areas
3. Draining the soil
Factors that influence soil temperature
 Helps to raise the temperature (in once water-
1. Moisture content of the soil logged conditions)
 Water requires a lot of energy or heat to warm 4. Irrigating/flooding the soil
up.  To cool down the soil temperature (in very hot
 Clay soils tend to be cold making seed areas)
germination slower
Effects of soil temperature in agricultural
 Sandy soils warm up quickly making
production
seed germination faster
2. Season of the year  It affects chemical reactions
 Soils are exposed to sunlight, longer in  Speed up in soil with high temperature
summer than in winter (rather cold season in  Affects availability of plant nutrients
case of Malawi)  It affects transpiration and evaporation
3. Soil depth  The higher the temperature, the greater the
 Soil temperature varies with depth below the evaporation, transpiration and
surface evapotranspiration.
 Topsoil experiences more temperature  It affects microbial activities
variations or fluctuations than subsoil  Influences OM decomposition rate
4. Soil colour  The rate is low below 25˚C and above
 Dark soils absorb much heat from the sun 40˚C
 This raises/increases soil temperature  It affects root growth
 Light covered soils do not absorb much  Too low or high temperature impedes root
heat growth and development
 Lowers soil temperature  Plants grow best at 25˚C
5. Soil vegetative cover/mulching  It affects seed germination
 Covered soils tend to have medium or  Too high temperatures impede or kills
optimum temperature, i.e., there is little seeds
fluctuation in the soil temperature, when  Too low soil temperatures delay
the soil is covered germination
 In very hot areas, mulching soils tend to
keep the temperatures lower than the
Soil consistency
surrounding are soils
6. Slope of the land Definition:
 In the southern hemisphere, a garden sloping
towards the north is heated more than land  It refers to the state of the soil under different
facing south moisture conditions or levels
 It refers to the strength with which soil
particles are held together

Page 7 of 65
Factors that influence soil consistency
1. Soil resistance to pressure
2. The way the soil particle hold together
Ways of maintaining/improving soil consistency
1. Drainage
2. Cultivating the soil at the right moisture content
3. Proper use of farm machinery or equipment
Effects of soil consistency on crop production
1. It influences water holding capacity of the soil
2. It affects the workability of soil, i.e., ability to be
cultivated
 Too dry soil enhances its destruction
 Wet soils stick to implements and puddles
Soil depth
Definition: It refers to the distance of the soil from top
soil to the bed rock
 It is associated with the soil profile
 Well developed and mature soils tend to be deep
 Under developed soils tend to be shallow
Factors that influence soil depth
1. Soil erosion
 Shallow soils in eroded areas
 Deep soils in areas of deposition
2. Slope of the land
 Soil depth increases as you go down the slope
 Soils are shallow on the steep slope, due to
soil erosion
3. Parental material
 Shallow soils
 If formed from materials resistant to
weathering
 Deep soils
 If formed from parental materials that
weather more easily
Effects of soil depth on crop production
1. It affects soil aeration
 The deeper the soil, the greater the aeration in
the soil
 This enhances root respiration and
development for increased crop production
2. It affects plant nutrition
Page 8 of 65
 The deeper the soil, the deeper the nutritive
top soil layer which has most organic matter
and mineral nutrients
3. It affects microbial activity
 The deeper the soil, the greater the zone
available for microorganisms to break down
organic matter
 OM release nutrients for plant growth
4. Affects root development
 Good in deep soil, thus reduced plant lodging
 Very poor in shallow soils, hence increased
plant lodging
5. Water holding capacity
 High water retention in deep soils
 Low/poor water retention in shallow soils
(prone to drought)
Soil porosity
Definition: It refers to the condition of the soil to
allow water and air to pass through it
 Soil porosity is due to the presence of air and
water spaces in the soil (pore spaces)
 It is determined by soil structure
 Total porosity is low in sandy soils
 Since soil particles are close together
with few but large pore spaces
 Porosity is high in clay soils
 Because of many but tiny pore spaces
 A term related to porosity is BULK
DENSITY
Porosity and Bulk Density
Density: It is the mass (weight) per unit
volume
Bulk density: it is the sum total of the pore
spaces and solid particles of the soil
Mathematically:
,
Where BD is bulk density, W is weight of
oven-dry soil and V is volume of oven-dry
soil.
Bulk density takes into consideration
both the solid components and the pore
spaces of the soil.
 Therefore Bulk density is used to TOPIC 2: CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF SOIL
determine the porosity of the soil
These include:
Mathematically:
1. Soil pH
( ) 2. Nutrient status of the soil
% porosity = %
3. Salinity
Particle density refers to the density of mineral 4. Cation Exchange Capacity
particles of the soil.

NOTE:
Soil pH (Soil reaction)
 BD for clay soil is 1.00g/cm 3
Definitions
 BD for fine sandy loam soil is 1.3g/cc
 Average particle density is 2.65g/cc  It is the degree of acidity or alkalinity of the
 Percentage of air and water in an ideal soil is soil OR
about 50%.  It is the negative logarithm of the Hydrogen
(H+) concentration, i.e., pH = -log (H+)
Ways of maintaining or improving porosity of soil
Ions that determine soil pH
1. Adding organic manure
2. Cultivating the soil a) Hydrogen ions (H+)
 Also refer to ways of maintaining and b) Hydroxyl ions (OH-)
improving soil structure
Conditions for soil pH
NOTE:
1. When H+ = OH- in concentration, the soil is
Since soil porosity is associated with soil structure, any neutral (pH 7)
measure taken to improved structure will also improve 2. When H+ > OH-, the soil is acidic, i.e., soil pH is
its porosity. low (pH value is less than 7)
3. When OH- > H+, the soil is alkaline, i.e., soil pH
Effects of soil porosity on crop production
is high (pH values are greater than 7)
1. It determines the rate of water holding capacity of
Test for soil pH
the soil.
 The higher the porosity, the lower the water Methods:
holding capacity of the soil
2. It affects the rate of leaching of mineral salts i. Using Universal Indicator or Litmus paper
 The lower the porosity, the lower the rate of ii. Using pH meter or scale (ranges from 1 to
leaching 14)
 More nutrients will be available for plant
Determining soil pH of a given soil sample using
growth and reproduction leading to higher
Universal Indicator solution or Litmus paper
crop yield
Experiment

Aim: To determine the pH of soil samples using

Universal Indicator solution

Materials

 Soil samples
 Test tubes
 Barium Sulphate (BaSO4) powder
 Distilled water
Page 9 of 65
  Universal Indicator solution
 pH indicator colour charts
Procedure
1. Put a soil sample in a test tube to a depth about 1
cm
2. Add an equivalent amount of BaSO4 powder to
the test tube containing the soil sample
 BaSO4 ensures flocculation and
precipitation of colloidal clay, i.e., break
down the soil particles further
3. Add distilled water to soil sample
4. Shake the test tube vigorously
5. Allow the contents to settle, then add 8 to 10
drops of Universal Indicator solution
6. Shake the test tube well allow the contents to
settle for about 30 to 60 minutes
7. Hold the test tube against the printed colour
chart
8. Compare each colour on the chart with the
colour of the suspension and note the pH of the
colour which matches it most closely
Expected Results
1. Pink or red colour shows that the soil is acidic
2. A blue or purple colour shows that the soil is
alkaline or basic
3. Green colour indicates neutral soils
NOTE
Instead of using Universal indicator solution, Litmus
paper is another substitute.
 Put some soil solution on a white tile
 Dip a Litmus paper into the solution
Expected Results
1. Blue Litmus paper will turn red if the solution is
acidic
2. Red Litmus paper will turn blue if the soil
solution is basic/alkaline
Factors affecting soil pH
a) Leaching
 Decreases soil pH
 H+ replaces calcium (Ca2+), sodium
(Na+) and magnesium (Mg2+) which are
washed down the profile
Page 10 of 65
b) Use of acid-forming fertilizers
 Continuous and heavy application of
sulphate of ammonia makes the soil acidic
(reduces soil pH)
c) Microbial activity
 Decrease soil pH through
 H+ released during decomposition of
organic matter
 CO2 produced by microbes dissolve in
water and forms carbonic acid
d) Weathering of parent material
 Parent material that contains Sulphur
decreases soil ph through formation of
sulphuric acid
 Soils formed from limestone have a high
pH (thus alkaline)
 Parent material that results in the
accumulation of such ions as potassium
(K+), sodium (Na2+), calcium (Ca2+) and
magnesium (Mg2+) increase soil pH (more
basic)
e) Nutrients uptake by plants
 Some nutrients get lost during harvesting and
are replaced by H+, which increase soil acidity,
i.e., reduces soil pH
f) Type of vegetation
 Some vegetation produce a lot of organic
matter releasing nutrients that influence soil
pH
 Amount of soil cover by the vegetation
influences soil pH
 Soils in forests tend to have a lower pH
than those in grasslands
g) Poor drainage
 Sandy soils have lower pH as it is prone to
leaching (elements get replaced by H+)
Ways of maintaining/improving or modifying soil
pH
1. Liming (application of agricultural lime)
 To neutralise soil acidity (to increase soil pH)
2. Application of inorganic fertilizers
 To increase soil pH , e.g. acid forming
Calcium Ammonium Nitrates (CAN)
3. Application of organic matter(organic manure)
 Reduces acidity in the soli through released
Ca2+, Mg2+
Effects of soil pH in agricultural production  Soils with structures like single-grained, are
prone to leaching
1. It affects availability of different plant nutrients in  Reduces nutrients amounts
the soil 3. Farming practices/methods of cultivation
 There is low phosphorus availability at very  Bush fires destroy OM which is essential for
low ph (acidic conditions) improving soil structure and releasing
 There is low potassium and iron availability at nutrients
very high ph (basic)  Overgrazing removes vegetative cover
2. It affects microbial activities in the soil  Nutrients are then lost through erosion
 Essential for decomposition of OM, e.g.,  Monocropping exhausts certain elements in
bacteria and fungi the soil
 Bacteria tend to be active when the ph is 4. Soil acidity
above 5.5
 Affects both release of nutrients and microbial
 Fungi tolerate a wide range of soil ph
activities in the soil
 Nitrification and nitrogen fixation y bacteria 5. Mineral uptake by plants and crop removal
take place vigorously at ph 5.5
 Nutrients are removed with crops upon
 Very low ph levels inhibit the activity of
harvesting as they are contained in the plant
nitro-fixing bacteria
during growth and development
3. It determines chemical properties of the soil
6. Leaching of basic nutrients
 This determines type of crops to be grown in a
 Decreases soluble nutrients like nitrates
given area
availability as they are washed down the soil
 Some crops do well in acidic soils, e.g.,
profile
tea, pineapples
7. Soil erosion
 Some crops like basic soils, e.g., beans,
 Decreases nutrients as they are washed away
peas, g/nuts, cabbage, soya beans,
together with the top soil through water and
sunflower
wind
 Some crops do well under a moderate ph
8. Excessive irrigation
(ph 6 and ph 7)
 Heavy irrigation results in nutrients being
4. It influences soil-borne diseases and soil pests
leached and washed out from the top soil
 Low soil ph encourages multiplication of
9. Drainage
fungi, i.e., soil-borne fungal plant diseases are
 When waterlogged land is drained to remove
common in acidic soils
surplus water, some nutrients get washed away
 Diseases caused by soil-borne bacteria are
in the process as well
common in alkaline soils
10. Use of chemical fertilizers
 Plant damage by nematodes (soil pest) is more
 Increase amounts of nutrients in the soil
common in acidic soils

Nutrient status of the soil

Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC)
 Nutrients are substances needed by plants and
Definitions:
animals for growth and development.
 Availability and amount of nutrients in the soil  It refers to the ability of the soil to exchange
determines soil fertility cations (at a given ph and per unit weight of
soil)
Factors that influence nutrient status of the soil
 It is the degree to which soils can absorb and
1. Composition of the soil itself/parent material exchange nutrients
 It affects the ability of the soil to retain and
An example of CEC process
release plant nutrients
 Inorganic (minerals) and organic constituents Lime added to acidic soil (with high concentration of
2. Soil structure and texture H+). Ca2+ and Mg2+ in lime will replace the H+, thereby
raising soil pH
Page 11 of 65
Forms of plant nutrients in the soil
a. Cations
 These are positively charged ions, e.g., Ca2+,
Mg2+, Na+ and K+
 Cations are held or absorbed into soil colloids
b. Anions
 These are negatively charged ions, e.g., Cl-,
NO3- and CO3-
 Anions are found in the soil solutions
 They are not easily leached from the soil
 They can be replaced by or exchanged with the
ions of the soil solution through CE process.
CEC is used as a measure of fertility in nutrient
retention capacity and the capacity to protect the
ground water from Cation contamination
CEC is highly dependent on the soil texture and
organic matter content (the more clay and OM in the
soil, the higher the CEC)
Factors that affect CEC
1. Type of clay colloids
2. Soil pH
 CEC increases with an increase in soil
pH
3. Relative concentration of the cations in the soil
Effects of CEC in crop production
1. It influences the supply of some nutrients, e.g.,
Ca+, Mg2+ and K+
 A higher CEC enables plants to get
nutrients for growth and production
2. CEC competitive rate avails cations to plant
roots for uptake
 As plant roots take up cations, other
cations in the soil water replace them on
the colloids
 High concentration of one Cation forces
other cations off colloids and take their
place
3. It maintains soil fertility
 Humus (OM) has the highest CEC value
because OM colloids have large
quantities of negative charges
 Plant nutrients found in OM include;
NH4+, Ca2+, K+ and Mg2+
Page 12 of 65
Note:
 Clay has greater capacity to attract and hold
cations, hence richer in plant nutrients
 Sand has no capacity to exchange cations
because it has no electric charge
 Thus low/poor nutrients content
 Can only be improved by adding OM
 OM contributes to CEC through the exchange
of elements with others that have similar or
like charges, e.g., NH4+, Ca2+, K+ and Mg2+
Soil Salinity
Definition: It refers to the condition that is associated
with the accumulation of soluble salts in the soil.
Examples of salts found in the soil
 Nitrates (NO3-)
 Sulphates (SO4)
 Bicarbonates (CO3)
 Chlorides (Cl-)
Types of soil based on soil salinity
1. Saline soils
These are soils which have a high concentration of
soluble salts
Causes of soil salinity
i. Irrigating virgin land with poor quality
water
 As water evaporates, the salts build
up in the soil
ii. Application of chemical fertilizers
 May lead to a build up of salts in the
soil
iii. Salts contained in parent material
 Upon weathering, salts are released
into the soil
iv. Low rainfall and evaporation
 Salts accumulates on and below the
soil surface due to capillary action
 Salts may also accumulate in the soil
due to limited leaching
v. Poor drainage
 Salts tend to build up in such poorly drained
soils
  Those that are sensitive to high concentration
2. Sodic soils of salts
These are soils which contain high amount of
sodium Sensitivity of some crops to salts
3. Sodic-saline soils
Low salt Medium salt High salt
These are soils which contain both soluble and tolerance tolerance tolerance
sodium salts Green beans Rice Cotton
Field beans Sorghum Spinach
Note: High amounts of sodium in saline-sodic soils are Apples Maize Rape
toxic to plants Pears Wheat Barley
Apricots Tomatoes Sugar beets
Signs/indicators of salinity in soils Citrus Oats
Problem Symptoms/signs
Saline  White crust on soil Determining soil salinity
surface
 Water stressed plants  Soil salinity can be determined by conducting a
 Leaf tip burn
field test through laboratory analysis
Sodic (soil with very  Poor drainage
high concentrations of  Black powdery  This is done at research stations, e.g., Bvumbwe
sodium) residue on soil in Thyolo and Chitedze in Lilongwe
surface  Field test for soil salinity is also called an EC1:5
Saline-sodic (salt-  Grey-coloured soils (i.e., EC one-to-five) test
affected soils with  Water stressed plants  This mseans 1 part of soil sample to 5
high sodium parts of distilled or rain water used in
concentration)
the test

Steps for soil salinity test

Ways of managing saline soils
1. Irrigating soil by flooding with salt free water
 Salts are flushed out and become leached
2. Drainage
 To carry some salts away
3. Application of gypsum
 Helps to convert insoluble carbonate salts
into sulphates (readily soluble and easily
leached through irrigation)
4. Preventing or reducing evaporation
 Minimizes build up of salts in the soil
5. Growing salt tolerant crops
 That can successfully survive in saline soils
1. Assessing or determining the texture of the
soil sample
2. Measuring the salinity of a solution made up
of the distilled water mixed with the soil
sample
 It is collected using salinity meter
3. Multiplying the test result (salinity meter
reading) y the conversion factor based on soil
texture to get soil salinity (ECe)
 This shows how soil salinity will
affect plant growth
Table below shows conversion factors

Effects of salt accumulation on crop production Soil texture Multiplication

factor
1. Increased soil ph (more alkaline) Sands 17.0
 Making some nutrients unavailable to plants, Sandy loams 13.8
e.g., K, Fe, Mn, B, Mg and Ca. Loams 9.5
2. Influences water availability Clay loams and light 8.6
clays
 Due to osmotic concentration
Medium and heavy 7.0
 This affects seed germination and plants clays
growth
3. Salts may also be toxic to some crops

Page 13 of 65
Experiment: Field test on salinity
Materials
 Soil sample 20-50g
 Distilled water or rain water
 Jar or container with lid
 Mortar and pestle
 Calibrated salinity meter
Procedure
1. Collect a soil sample (20-50g) and leave it to dry
for a day or two
2. Crash the air dried sample with a hammer or use
a mortar and pestle.
3. Put the soil sample into a jar with a lid and add
distilled or rain water (one part of soil for every
five parts of water).
4. Shake the jar vigorously for three minutes to
make sure the salts dissolve.
5. Let the soil solution settle for at least one minute
before testing
6. Place the salinity meter electrodes in the solution
(but not in the soil at the bottom of the jar) and
read the display once it has stabilised
7. Wash the meter electrodes and sample jar with
distilled or rain water, and dry them
8. Convert the salinity meter reading to soil salinity
(ECe) by multiplying the value by the conversion
factor
NOTE
 The Electrical Conductivities are
measured in deciSiemen/m which is
equivalent to mmhos/cm
 In the experiment, the soil sample is
small in quantities hence results are
given in milliSiemen/cm (Ms/cm)
 Usually, electrical conductivities are
measured at 25˚C
 Most conductivity meters have
temperature compensation controls.
Page 14 of 65
TOPIC 3: PLANT PROPAGATION
Definition: Plant propagation means reproducing or
creating new plants from a variety of sources
Types of plant propagation
1. Sexual propagation
2. Asexual propagation
Sexual propagation
Definition: It is the method that uses seeds to produce
new plant individuals
Advantages of sexual propagation
 Cheapest method of plant propagation
 Seeds are readily available
 Seed is easy to store
 No significant loss in quality and
quantity
 Seeds remain viable for long period of
time (if properly stored)
 Handy and less bulky
 Seed is easy to sow, handle and prepare or
planting
 Saves on planting time
 Seeds can easily be sown mechanically
 Using seed hoppers or drillers
 Minimized risks off disease transmission
 From parents to off springs
 Seeds offer the only way of propagating some
crops
 Those that cannot e propagated
asexually, e.g., maize, g/nuts, e.t.c
 Seeds produce new better plants
 Due to fertilization and pollination
resulting in crop improvement
Disadvantages of sexual plant propagation
 Can produce serious variations and off-type
 Among the off springs (new plants)
 Due to mutation
 Cross-pollination may result in new plant
acquiring undesirable characteristics/traits
 Different from those of the parent
plant
 Seed formation may fail
 If factors influencing pollination and
fertilization are absent
 Requires a long juvenile period
  Before bearing fruits
 Requires elaborate seed bed/land preparation
 For sowing the seed
Asexual (vegetative) propagation
Definition: It is the production of new plants by using
a part or parts of an existing plant, without use of seeds
Common vegetative planting materials used in
Malawi
a) Stem Cuttings
 Pieces or cuttings of stem that have buds at
each node and that develop adventitious roots
are used for field planting (e.g., Napier grass,
cassava, Gliricidia-a shrub legume, Nsenjere)
 Can be developed from either stems or roots
 Stem cuttings (setts) can be raised in nursery
(e.g., tea, rubber) or planted directly into the
field (e.g., sugarcane)
 For sugarcane, it is better to use three node
cutting than a single-node cutting in order to
obtain:
 High germination capacity
 High initial plant vigour of the
germinated shoots
 High yield
 For cassava, each cutting should be 25-
30cm long
 Other examples of crops that can e
propagated using stem cuttings
include plums, grapes, hibiscus,
blackberries, carnations,
chrysanthemums and poinsettias
Parts of a sugarcane cutting
b) Runners
 Stems that grow horizontally above the
ground
 The piece must have a node from which
the roots and shoots can develop
Page 15 of 65
 The best cutting should be 25-30cm long
from the tip
 Examples of crops include
Strawberries, Sweet potatoes, Star
grass, etc
c) Stem tubers
 Underground, swollen portions of the stem
which act as storage organs
 Each tuber has buds from which root
system and new shoots develop
 examples of crops include Irish
potatoes (European potatoes) and
Jerusalem Artichokes
Parts of an Irish potato
d) Suckers
 A sucker is a shoot (tiller) arising from an
axillary bud at the base of a parent plant
 They are cut off or uprooted and planted
elsewhere
 Examples of crops include bananas,
pineapples and sisal
e) Bulbs
 A bulb is a storage organ made up of
closely, paced, modified, fleshy leaves
 Buds develop in the axils of the leaves that
make up the bulb
 New shoots develop from the buds,
feeding on the food stored in the fleshy
leaves of the bulb
 The new shoots then separate from the
parent plant, developing new roots from
the base
 Examples of crops include onions,
tulips, lilies and garlic
 Parts of an onion bulb h) Leaves
 The lea is used
 Characteristics of plants that can e
propagated by leaves
 plants with prominent net veins
 plants whose leaves are thick with
stored food

Procedure for propagating plants using

leaves
f) Corms  water the plant before collecting the leaf
 A corm is a thickened (enlarged) base of  select a healthy, mature succulent (juicy)
an underground stem in which food is leaf from the parent plant
stored  remove the petiole (leafstalk) with a
 New shoot develops from the bud on the sharp knife
side of the parent corm  cut the leaf across several of the larger
 The stored food on the parent (old) corm veins with a sharp knife or scissors
provides nutrients to the new shoot  dust the cut veins with a rooting
 Examples of crops include Cocoyam hormone
(arrow roots) and Crocus  to encourage the production of
new roots
Parts of a corm
 place the prepared leaf into a pot field
with damp soil as soon as possible, when
the leaf cutting is still fresh
 pin the leaf flat, bottom-side-down, to
the surface of the soil using thorns,
toothpicks, or sharpened matchsticks to
pierce the leaf
 to ensure that the leaf stays in
contact with the moist soil at all
times
 place the pot with the cutting into a
g) Rhizomes transparent plastic bag
 Are thick, horizontal underground stems  to prevent the leaf cutting from
 Shoots and roots develop from the buds on wilting as the bag provides
the rhizomes humidity
 Examples of crops include bananas,  to allow the leaf cutting to get
bamboo, ginger and reeds sunlight for photosynthesis
 water the cutting (when necessary) while
Parts of a rhizome it is inside the bag
 remove the cutting from the bag when
new leaves or shoots are seen beginning
to form
 when each of the shoots (new tiny plants
growing from the original leaf) has two
sets of leaves, separate the new shoots
by cutting the leaf apart with a knife or
scissors into separate sections

Page 16 of 65
  transplant each of the new plants into
separate small pots or polythene tubes
filled with soil
i) Splits
 These are sets of bunches from an already
established plant, e.g., grass and
pyrethrum
j) Bulbils
 These are obtained from sisal
 They are the sucker-like parts taken from
the top o the sisal pole
Methods of vegetative propagation
1. Layering
 Induces part of a plant, usually a branch to
produce roots while still attached to the
mother plant
 Once the branch has rooted, it is cut away
from the parent plant and planted out
 It is a common method in guavas and
mango
Common methods of layering
a) Air layering/Marcotting
Part of the stem to be used is wounded
 To expose the cambium layer from which roots
develop
The wounded part is then covered with soil
 In polythene sleeve paper
b) Tip/Mound layering
The stem or branch is bent and pegged to the
ground
 The pegged part develops roots for a new shoot
while it is still attached to the parent plant
c) Trench layering
Follows the same principle as in Tip layering
However, a trench is dug where the bent part
gets covered with the soil
2. Budding
 A vegetative bud from one woody plant is
transferred and joined to the stem/ branch of
another woody plant called the root stock
 This bud will develop into a branch/stem,
which will produce fruits of its mother plant
 All the other branches of the root stock
(mother plant) will produce the same fruits of
its origin
 This method is common in citrus fruits, e.g.,
Oranges and Lemons
Page 17 of 65
 Enables farmers to produce two
different types of fruits from the
same tree
3. Grafting
 It involves joining a part of one woody plant
known as a scion to another woody plant
(stock)
 The two parts (scion and stock) must be from
the same species and have the same thickness
 The union must ensure that the cambium
layers are matched
 The cut must be slant or V-shaped
 The union must be neatly fitted and taped
Note: The scion can have one or more
buds that give rise to the future fruiting
plant
Advantages of asexual/vegetative propagation
i. Reduces juvenile period of the plant
 Assume the age of their parent plants
earlier
 Start giving fruits/yield faster
ii. Eliminates the problems of dormancy
 No need of seed treatment such as
scarification
iii. Ensures genetic uniformity in crops
 Since all off-springs will resemble their
parents
iv. It automatically preserves the desired trait
(character or quality)
v. It offers the only way of propagating crops
whose seeds are not viable, bananas,
sugarcanes and some seedless citrus fruits
 Whose seeds are not viable, e.g., bananas
vi. Vegetative organs are more hardy than
seedlings from seeds
 Withstand environmental hazards in the
field such as drought
vii. Vegetative organs generally have sufficient
food reserves
 Helps young shoots to become established
faster
viii. Plants skip the risky seedling stage in which a
number of plants die under adverse conditions
ix. Planting materials are readily available to the
farmer from the previous crop
 Eliminates the need of buying expensive
new hybrid seeds every season
Disadvantages of asexual propagation
i. Risk of transferring diseases to new plants is
high
 Off-spring inherits (acquires) all the
characteristics of the parent
ii. It is more difficult to introduce variation or
desirable traits or eliminate undesirable traits
into crops
 Making crop improvement difficult
iii. Vegetative materials tend to be bulky
 Difficult to handle
 Difficult to increase field size
iv. Some of the procedures in vegetative
propagation require specialist knowledge
and/or skills, e.g., layering, budding and
grafting
v. Mechanical planting of vegetative planting
materials is difficult because they cannot
easily fit and slide down during mechanical
seed hoppers or drills
vi. They are not easy to store
 They remain viable only for short
periods
vii. They may e expensive to get (unless the
farmer collects from her previous crop)
 There is high demand on time,
transport and skills
viii. They are slow and tedious
 Makes the whole process boring
TOPIC 4: FARM RECORDS
Definition
 A farm record is a set of information stored or
retained by the farmer about farm events as they
occur in a farm
 A farm record is a written statement or a detailed
collection off facts and figures on agricultural
activities, operations, practices and transactions
Reasons for keeping farm records
 Provide a history of what has been happening on
the farm.
 can be used for comparison purposes
within the farm.
 Help in planning and budgeting.
Page 18 of 65
 enable the farmer to make appropriate
choices and decisions in the farm.
 It is a requirement by financial institutions before
any loan can be approved in order:
 to determine the need and capability of the
farmer to service or repay the loan.
 to determine whether the farmer can
benefit from the credit if advanced.
 Determine the financial status of the farm.
 help in detecting theft/fraud or losses
very early and in resolving situation.
 Help in settling disputes under joint ownership if
one of the partners dies in absence of a will.
 Help in proper management of various routine
livestock or crop production practices, e.g.,
calving, vaccinations, harvesting, breeding,
culling unproductive livestock.
 Provide actual trading information for income tax
accessors to avoid over-taxation.
 For comparison purposes between farmers
dealing with the same enterprise.
 helps to discover the causes for the
differences.
 Determine profits or losses in order to know
whether the business should be expanded or
discontinued.
 Helps in settling insurance claims, e.g., in case of
fire or any other accident in the farm.
 Provide labour information, e.g., terminal
benefits.
 Help farmers in the selecting the types of
livestock to keep and crop to grow.
 Help farmers to check their methods of
production.
Types of farm records
1. Inventory records.
 Inventory records are a list of all the properties
or assets that the farmer has on the farm.
 Assets are things that can be converted into
cash.
Examples of assets
 Land
 Buildings and other structures
(granaries, barns, milking sheds,
warehouses, pens or kholas)
 Produce in storage
 Livestock
 Trees (whether for fruit or not)
  Machinery Table 1 shows an example of inventory record
 Tools and equipment template.
 Seeds
 Feed Date Item Quantity Estimated
value
 Fertilisers or manure
 Drugs
 Pesticides
 Herbicides
 The best time to do inventory in Malawi is at 2. Production records
the end of the farming season, when there is not Production records are information on the
much work on the farm. operations or activities and inputs used in
producing a crop or raising a livestock, and the
Steps for doing inventory farm produce or outputs.
1. Counting the items physically.
2. Physical measurement of the land, buildings Categories of production records
and other structures, and available crops, e.g.,
in terms of size. i. Crop production records
3. Estimating the value of the assets using the  These records outline information on the
present market prices. type of crop, allocation in plots, inputs
used in each crop and its yield/ output.
What to consider when estimating the value of
assets Types of inputs

 Depreciation or loss of value of item over time. a) Variable inputs, e.g., seed, fertiliser or
this can either manure, pesticides or herbicides, drugs,
a) Straight line depreciation (reducing the casual labour.
value by 10% per annum). b) Fixed inputs, e.g, buildings and
b) Fixed rate depreciation (declining balance equipment, permanent labour, machinery
of 20% per annum).

Table 2 shows an example of a template for crop production record

Type of crop Plot no./ Inputs used (seed, manure, fertiliser, pesticides, Yield/output
hectarage herbicides, labour- type, amounts, rate)
Maize
Groundnuts
Tobacco
Beans

ii. Field record

 This refers to the information of all operations that farmers keep in their diaries.
 Separate pages should be allocated to each crop or plot.

Table 3 shows an example of a field record template

Date Plot no./ Operations/activities Inputs (seeds, fertilisers, Remarks

crop chemicals- type, chemicals
amounts, rate)

Page 19 of 65
 iii. Livestock production records
 These are records of activities or operations and inputs used in producing livestock.
 These records depend on the type of livestock kept and their uses.
 They can be of different information, e.g., number of livestock, health record, etc.

Table 4 shows an example of livestock record template

Class of No. on hand at the Bought or Born Total Slaughtered No. on hand at
livestock beginning received or died the end

3. Financial records
 These are records of all business transactions.
 Transactions are in the form of
a) Sales or receipts
b) Expenses or expenditures
 These records help the farmer to work out profit or loss for the farm.

Table 5 shows an example of a template of financial records

Sales and receipts Purchases and expenditures

Date Details MK T Date Details MK T

Total receipts ____________ Total expenses _____________

Profit _____________
To balance ___________ To balance _____________

NOTE:

 Farmers need to keep more details of all the income and expenses for the farm.
 Farmers should keep a record of farm produce used for home consumption.
 This helps farmers to have a clear picture of the output from the farm.
 However, the produce used for home consumption MUST NOT be entered in in the sales and receipt column
of the financial record.

TOPIC 5: CROPPING SYSTEMS

Definitions of the term ‘cropping system’
Description A pattern growing a field
A Crops
Cropping system refers to the patterns, techniques,
technique of on
procedures, arrangements or practices followed in the A practice cultivating a piece
cultivation of and production of crops. A style of land
A method managing plants
It describes: A a farm
procedure
 What crop or crops are grown in an area
 How and why such crop or crops are grown

Page 20 of 65

4. Abandoning the area when the yields are too
5. Moving to the new area
Types of cropping systems
Concept map for some cropping systems practised
in Malawi
1. Shifting cultivation
 Cropping system where land is cultivated for
several years until crop yields become too
low due to soil exhaustion with no intention
of returning to it later.
 Low yields forces the farmer to
abandon the plot and move on (shift)
to farm (cultivate) another.
Activities involved in shifting cultivation
6. Bush fallowing/ land rotation
Cycle of activities in shifting cultivation
1. Clearing the area
2. Cultivating the area continuously for several
years
Page 21 of 65
3. Evaluating crop yields each year
low
NOTE:
 No fertilizer is applied at all
 Nutrients are added to the soil in the
form of ash (potassium and calcium)
after burning
 Yield decreases each year
 After three to five years fertility is too
low for crop production
Advantages
 It is cheap since it does not require fertilizers
 It is simple since operations are generally
carried out using hand tools
 It weeds and weed seeds effectively through
burning the bush
 It may control soil-borne diseases through
the use of fire
 It controls pests through burning
Disadvantages
 It requires a lot of land for the shifting
process
 It resulting in low yields due to low input
levels (no fertilizers, etc.)
 The burning of vegetation destroys potential
organic matter, some nutrients and
microorganisms which are useful for
decomposition process
 It exposes the land to erosion since vast
areas have to be cleared.
 ‘‘Bush’’ means uncleared, wild vegetation.
 ‘‘Fallow’’ is land left uncropped.
 ‘‘Bush fallowing’’ means farming a plot,
then temporarily leaving it when exhausted
so that it can regain fertility, before
returning to it later.
Activities involved in bush fallowing
 Clearing the area.
 Cultivating the area continuously for several
years
 Evaluating crop yields each year
  Abandoning the area when the yields are too
low
 Opening up several other plots, one after the
other
 Returning to the first plot
NOTE:
 Activities are similar to those of shifting
cultivation
 The left plot returns to bush so it recovers
fertility during the fallow period
 The fallow period may take as long as
five to ten years
 Returning to the first plot makes bush
fallowing also to be called land rotation
Advantages
 It is cheap as it does not need a lot of
capital for fertilizer
 It maintains soil fertility through fallow
periods
Disadvantages
 It encourages deforestation as one bush is
cleared after another
 It increases the rate of soil erosion
through the careless cutting down of trees
 It requires a lot of land, which the farmer
may not have
7. Monocropping
 Monocropping means ‘‘one’’ cropping.
 The whole farm has only one crop and
this crop is grown every year.
Activities involved in Monocropping
 Identifying a crop that is most suitable for
the area
 Determined by: - climate and soil
 Identifying the capital and managerial
ability available
NOTE:
 The farmer grows only that one crop
every year
 The farmer concentrates on and becomes
specialised in the chosen crop
Page 22 of 65
Advantages
 It produces the highest possible profit for
farmers since they grow only the most
suitable crop for the environment
 It simplifies farm management- all the
farmer’s thoughts and efforts are
concentrated on one crop only
 It facilitates farm mechanisation because
the land area is usually large enough
 It saves costs- since large quantities of
inputs required to cover the vast areas can
be bought in bulk at wholesale price or
discount rates
 It reduces the amount of starting capital
since it will be for one type of crop only
 The farmer specialises and becomes an
expert in one crop
Disadvantages
 Pests and diseases build up since pests
and disease causing organisms for such a
crop multiply each year
 The risk of loss or disappointment is high
since in case of rainfall or pest and
disease incidence the farmer will have
nothing to fall back on
 The soil becomes exhausted quickly since
the crop absorbs and uses the same
nutrients every year.
8. Monoculture
 Monoculture means cultivating only one
crop in each plot on a farm continuously
 Crops occupy separate plots
Activities involved in monoculture
 Deciding what crop or crops to grow
during the growing season
 Divide the farm into plots with respect to
the number of crops to be grown
 these plots will be pure stands
 a pure stand is plot that occupies only
one type of crop
 normally for cash crops
 Advantages
 It facilitates the use of machinery since
adjustments can be made easily to suit the
one crop in the pure stand
 It eliminates the possibility of any
competition from other crops since there is
just the one desired crop in the plot to
make the maximum use of environmental
resources
 It is easy to use chemicals since the farmer
has only the needs of one crop in the plot
to address
Disadvantage
 It increases the rate at which pests and
diseases spread since there are no other
crop barriers to check or slow down the
invasion
9. Mixedcropping/Intercroppin/Multiculture/
Polyculture
 This is the practice of growing two or more
crops on the same plot at the same time.
Activities involved in Mixed cropping
 Deciding on what crops to grow
 Deciding on what way of planting to follow
Forms of Mixed cropping
i. Intra-row mixed cropping
 Two or more crops grown within the
same ridge (row) either on same
planting stations or different stations
along the ridge
 This is normally practiced with maize
and beans
Page 23 of 65
ii. Inter-row mixed cropping
 One crop is grown between the rows of
another crop.
 crops are grown on alternate rows or
ridges
iii. Relay mixed cropping
 This is where the second crop is sown
on the plot while the first one is still
growing, established, or even maturing.
 This is also known as phased-planting.
 For example
 cassava is planted in an established
maize field
 Pumpkin seeds sown when tobacco
is almost ready for harvesting.
iv. Multi-level intercropping
 This is the a system of growing several types
of crops in the same plot which grow to
different heights from the ground so that
different levels (storeys or steps) can be seen
Advantages
 Saves labour since some operations are
done at once for all the crops in the
mixture
 Saves land since the same land is used
for more than one crop
 Increases the total yield per hectare, i.e,
yields from different crops
 Reduces the risk of crop failure since
the farmer can rely on the other crops if
one fails
  Enables crops to benefit from one
another in different ways
 legumes fix nitrates to be used by
maize
 maize acts as stakes for climbing
beans
 Reduces the spread of pests and
diseases
 Reduces soil erosion
 The mixture provides adequate soil
cover
 Controls weed growth
 by suppressing them through shading
so weeds receive inadequate sunlight
for photosynthesis
Disadvantages
 Mechanization is difficult since each crop
has specific needs in terms of operations
like ploughing or ridging
 Requires large starting capital to get
different machines and farm structures for
the different crops
 It may be difficult to meet (satisfy) the
different nutrient requirement of the various
crops in the mixture, e.g., fertiliser
 It is difficult to use pesticides, fertilizers or
herbicides since a chemical used on one
crop may be harmful to another
 Requires a wide range of knowledge and
skills to manage the different crops
 Different crops shade one another reducing
the rate of photosynthesis
 It may result in serious competition
between the different crops for water,
nutrients and oxygen
10. Continuous cropping
 The practice of growing crops on a piece of
land every year without fallowing or resting
the land.
NOTE:
 It can either have one type of crop or more
Page 24 of 65
 A farmer may choose to rotate the crops in
the plots to maintain fertility and reduce the
multiplication of pests and diseases
Activities involved in continuous cropping
 Deciding on what crop or crops to grow
 Deciding on how to locate crops in the plots
if the farmer wishes to be rotating the crops
Advantages
 Ensures 100% utilization of the land
resources available to the farm every year
 Conserves the soil since land is under crop
cover most of the time
 Ensures food security or sufficient cash for
the farmer from the crops harvested from all
parts of the farm each year
Disadvantages
 Exhausts soil fertility since soil nutrients are
removed by the crops every year
 Results in over-cultivation or over-copping,
which destroys the soil structure
 Results in multiplication of pests and diseases
and some parasitic weeds
11. Crop rotation
 Crop rotation is the practice of growing
different crops (changing crops) on a
piece of land in a particular sequence
(order) every year
Activities involved in crop rotation
 Deciding on the crops depending on:
 Climate
 Soil type
 Amount of land, capital, labour
available
 Managerial ability
 Diving the farm into equal plots
depending on the number of crops to be
grown and the quantity required
 two plots of one crop may be required
 Allocating each crop to a plot
NOTE:
  Change the crops in the plots each
season
A crop rotation cycle
Factors to consider in a crop rotation
programme (Principles of crop rotation)
 When allocating crops to plots for crop
rotation consider the following:
 Alternating tap (deep) rooted crops
with fibrous (shallow) rooted crops
 Alternating leguminous crops (beans,
groundnuts, peas) with non-
leguminous crops (cereals, cotton,
tobacco)
 Alternating heavy feeders (soil
exhausting crops ) with light feeders
 Alternating crops that are resistant to
specific diseases with susceptible
crops those diseases
 Alternating crops with good soil
cover with those having little soil
cover
 Crops with similar nutrient demands;
growth characteristics; disease pest
and weed attacks, should not follow
each other
 Crops which are easy to weed should
alternate with crops which are
difficult to weed
 Select the crop sequences which
produce the highest yields first and
allow for easy control of weeds, pests
and diseases
Page 25 of 65
Advantages
 Ensures that crops make full use of soil
nutrients from different layers of the soil
 Maintains or even improves soil fertility
when legumes are included in the
rotation to fix nitrates
 Controls pests and diseases by breaking
their life cycles
 Controls parasitic weeds which are host
-specific by depriving them of their host
on the plot in some years
 Reduces soil erosion when cover crops
are included in the rotation to cover and
protect the soil from raindrop impact and
run-off.
 Ensures a more even distribution of
labour demand throughout the year so
that serious labour peak months may not
occur
 Spreads out financial risks over several
crops
Disadvantages
 Results in les farm income compared to
monoculture
 Requires more land to accommodate the
various crops
 Requires more labour since some of the
crops in the rotation may need high labour
 Requires skill in the management of various
crops
 May not be practical where the farmer needs
to use more of the land (up to 90%) for a
staple food crop each year to meet the family
food requirements
12. No-till cropping
 No-till cropping is where the land is cleared
but the soil is left undisturbed in that it is
neither tilled nor ridged, except when
making planting holes (stations)
 Because of this it is also known as
Minimum tillage.
Activities involved in No-till cropping
 Clearing the land
 Making planting holes
 Advantages
 Conserves the soil since it is not loosened
by tillage, which would make it easy to be
eroded by water and wind
 Saves labour since ploughing and ridging
are not done
 Ensures that crop husbandry practices are
conducted and completed on time
 Maintains soil structure since it is not
damaged by repeated cultivations
 Saves money that would be spent for
buying and maintaining cultivation
machinery and therefore increases profits
 Can be used effectively on hilly areas
where machinery could not be used
 Improves soil structure through the use of
manures
 It is cheaper to make and apply manures
than to buy fertilizer
 Reduces the chances of poisoning
 Keeps the ecosystem in a state of balance
since organic inputs tend to be
environmental friendly
Disadvantages
 Organic inputs may not be as quick as
inorganic fertilizers in producing results
 Large quantities of organic manures will be
needed

 To replace inorganic fertilizer

Disadvantages
14. Agroforestry
 May not improve the productivity of clay  Agroforestry refers to the land use systems
soils, which require opening up (with and practices in which woody perennial trees
plough) to improve aeration are deliberately grown on the same piece of
 Herbicides are expensive land as crops and/or livestock
 Arable crops are grown together with
13. Biological farming selected trees
 This is where crops are grown using organic
inputs rather than inorganic inputs Activities involved in agroforestry
 Examples of inorganic inputs are: -  Deciding on what types of crops to grow
chemical fertilizers, fungicides,
 Deciding on what type of trees to grow
pesticides, herbicides
 Examples of organic inputs are:-
Forms of agroforestry
organic manures (farmyard manure,
compost or green manure

Activities involved in organic farming

 Deciding on what crops to grow

 Deciding on which inputs to use
 Making the organic inputs
 Deciding on the effective cultural practices
to be used

Advantages

 Prevents rivers and lakes from being

polluted with fertilizers that would otherwise
be washed down by the rains to destroy
aquatic life
 Protects useful insects which would be
destroyed by if pesticides were applied
Page 26 of 65
 Silvo-arable cropping:- a type of
agroforestry which combines trees and an
agronomic cultivated (arable) crop
 Arrangement of crops may take the form
of alley cropping where the arable crop
 grows between rows of a harvestable tree  Fibrous roots of cereal or pasture
crop (grass) crops bind the soil while
those of the trees stabilise the soil
 Silvo-pastoral:- incorporating trees or shrubs  Presence of both trees and crops
and pasture for livestock feed break the speed of run-off
 Trees (together with crops) act as
 Trees are sparsely spaced to allow the
wind-break
grass growing between them
Disadvantages of agro-forestry
 Agrisilvo-pastoral:-incorporating trees or
shrubs with livestock pasture and crops  It is very difficult to manage as it requires
expertise in choosing compatible trees,
 rows of an arable crop lie maize may be
arable crops and pasture species
followed by a row of sparsely trees
 It results in less yield from arable crops than
Advantage of agro-forestry if they were in monocultures because the
shorter crops face unfavourable competition
 It increases the productivity of the land  More labour may be needed, especially to
 It increases fertility of the soil by water and protect the trees when young
 It is difficult to mechanise farm operations
 Increasing the amount of organic
 Space to manoeuvre is confined by trees
matter in the soil when leaves, fruits
 It reduces the arable coverage
or branches of trees fall down and
 By choosing to integrate trees, the area
decompose to form humus
 Recycling of nutrients from deep in for arable crops on the land is reduce
the soil  It comes with transition costs
 Fixing nitrogen in the soil, if the tree  Changing from a current cropping
crop in the mixture is a leguminous, system to an agroforestry cropping
e.g., Faidherbia albida (msangu) system involves a loss of short term
gains.
 It increases yield from the arable crops
 It protects livestock and crops from adverse
weather conditions, e.g., wind, sun-scorch
and rain where trees provide shade
 It improves moisture conservation
 It reduces the risk of crop failure
 It provides a wide variety of products, e.g.,
fruits, timber, cash crops, beef and dairy
products
 It provides a suitable income
 It increases species diversity by offering a
greater variety of habitats for wildlife
 It can lead to reduced pests and diseases by
encouraging the multiplication of natural
enemies of the pest
 It guarantees tree care and follow-up
because of the arable intercropping
arrangement
 It reduces soil erosion

 Combination of arable crops and

trees improves soil cover

Page 27 of 65
 TOPIC 6: ENTERPRISE COMBINATION Graphs of some enterprise combinations

 Enterprise combination refers to the mixing of

different businesses.
 In agriculture, enterprise combination refers to
the mixing of different agricultural businesses.

Types of enterprise combination

1. Competitive enterprise combination

 Two enterprises are competitive if an
increase in one enterprise results in
decrease in the other.

Things that determine a profitable

combination

 Cost of producing the product  Competitive enterprises can have a

 Prices of the products constant substitution or an
 Rate at which one product substitutes for the increasing/decreasing substitution
other
NOTE:
An increase in one enterprise requires a decrease in the
other since the two enterprises are competing for one
or more o the farmer’s resources

2. Complementary enterprise combination

Complementary enterprise is when the enterprises add

to the production of each other

 Net return or revenue from enterprises is the

most important consideration when deciding
what to produce.
Eg,

a) Poultry and vegetable production. Manure

from chickens help to increase vegetable
production and the vegetable can be fed to
chickens as green feed.

Page 28 of 65
 b) Keeping of ducks and fish farming. Ducks 6. Comparative advantage
provide manure for fish ponds and fish meal 7. Price changes
can be fed to ducks 8. Changes in technology
3. Supplementary enterprise combination 9. Risks and uncertainty
 An enterprise is supplementary when an
increase in one does not affect the other, Ways through which farmers can safeguard
but adds to the total income o the farm. themselves against risks and uncertainty
 One enterprise may also benefit the other.  Selecting a more reliable enterprise (one that is
unlikely to fail)
Eg,  Producing several crops (diversification)
Maize planted together with groundnuts.  Flexibility in methods of production
Groundnuts will supplement maize production  Practising input substitution
because groundnuts help in fixing nitrate into the  Keeping food in reserve to ensure food
soil which in turn is used by maize in form of security during bad seasons
nitrogen.
 Rationing the inputs to adjust uncertainty
.
 Insuring their enterprises
Factors to be consider when choosing an enterprise
10. Farmer’s abilities
combination

1. Availability of farming resources Other factors

 Farming resources are
 Crop rotation to be practised
i. Land
ii. Labour  Expected yield from the enterprise
 Enterprise input requirements
 Enterprises should be low labour demanding  Expected prices to be offered on the market
 Enterprises should not compete for labour at  This depends on supply and demand
critical periods (labour peak times)  A quota system, as practised in tobacco
industry
 This control production levels, hence
affecting supply.

iii. Capital
iv. Managerial skills
2. Farmer’s food requirements
 Food production is a priority.
3. Profitability of enterprises

 Can be determined by deducting expected

costs from the expected income

4. Nature of enterprises (relationship between

enterprises)
 Competitive
 Complementary
 Supplementary

5. Opportunity cost
 The return that is given up (returns that are lost
from an enterprise due to stopping engaging in
it)

Page 29 of 65
TOPIC 7: MUSHROOM PRODUCTION Species of mushroom

Life cycle of fungi (e.g., mushroom)

Description of some mushroom species

Type Description
Parts of a mushroom
Oyster  Light tan (beige brown
(Pleurotus or grey) or cream in
spp) colour
 Large fan-like cap and
short stem
 Good flavour when
cooked
 Can be eaten raw in
salad, but mostly cooed
Button  Dome shaped
(Agaricus spp)  Colour varies from white to light
brown
 Can be small in jumbo sizes
 Has a nice flavour
 Can be used raw or cooked
Importance of mushroom production  Can also be canned and dried
Shiitake (Oak  Colour ranges from tan to dark
mushroom, brown
 Mushrooms provide us with valuable nutrients. Chinese black,  Has broad, umbrella shaped caps
Eg. Proteins, vitamins, minerals forest  Tastes like steak when cooked
mushroom,
 Creates employment opportunities. eg. Self golden oak)
and to others Straw (paddy  Pink in colour
straw)  Grown on rice straw beds
 Source of income to farmers after sales mushroom
 Source of foreign exchange if done at large \

scale
Varieties of mushroom grown in Malawi
 Helps in cleaning up the environment as it
makes use of waste products of the forest and i. Oyster varieties
animals ii. Button varieties

 Assists in crop diversity  Most farmers prefer Oyster to Button because

 Source of medicine it requires less supervision

Page 30 of 65
1. Oyster varieties d. Pasteurisation refers to subjecting the
substance to very high temperatures and then
a. Pleurotus spp
immediate cooling

 relatively easy to grow-yields are elastic Differences between Oyster and Button mushrooms
depending on the substrate used-grows
 Oyster mushrooms are easier to grow than
well between temperature of 15 to 30
button mushrooms
degrees Celsius-can be grown on
 Button mushrooms have a better taste than
lignocellulotic land and forestry wastes
oyster mushrooms
b. Pleurotus rajor-caja
 Oyster mushrooms are less capital intensive
 highly adaptive
than button mushrooms
 prefer temperature between 22 to 24
 Oyster mushrooms have a shorter shelf life
degrees Celsius
than button mushrooms
c. Pleurotus stratus
 produces very well in temperatures  Oyster mushrooms fetch lower prices on the

between 12 to 26 degrees Celcius market than button mushrooms

 Oyster mushrooms are good for beginning
2. Button varieties mushroom growers because as stated above

There are two varieties that are recommended to be they are easier to grow than button

grown in Malawi.  Button mushrooms require special compost

manure and fertiliser, and hence farmers find it
(i) TNS 1 difficult and expensive to produce
 requires a cropping temperature between
16 to 20 degrees Celsius Husbandry practices for Oyster mushroom

 white in colour production

 potential yield of 15kg/m2

 Spawn selection
 Site selection
(ii) TNS 2
 Construction of incubation and production
 requires temperature between 18 to 22
shed or house
degrees Celsius
 Spawn preparation or purchasing the spawn
 bigger in size than TNS1
 Substrate treatment
 white in colour and scally yield potential
 Mushroom seeding (spawning)
of 15kg/m2
 Mushroom fruiting management
NOTE:  Harvesting

 Mushrooms normally in Malawi can be grown

between March and July since temperatures
are relatively low
 To increase the yield of mushroom most of the
substrate require pasteurisation
Page 31 of 65
Requirements for mushroom production o Substrate
Can be made from the following:
o Mushroom Fruiting House
Maize stalks, rice straws or banana leaves
 where mushroom production takes place
with supplementation
 cheaply constructed from wooden
Shredded maize cobs with or without
framework covered with a plastic sheet
supplementation
(clear or black) and thatched with grass or
Saw dust with supplementation
iron sheets optionally.
 can either have a rack if hanging method The most common supplements include:
is to be used or alternatively an “A”
 Rice or wheat bran (15% to 20%)
Frame with two shelves at the bottom,
 Water hyacinth (10% to 20%)
one of which side can be use
 Calcium carbonates (1% to 2%)
 should provide enough light
o Plastic bags
 However colonisation of mycelia does not
 Use transparent plastic bags for
require light but it is necessary for the
(i) easy visualisation of mycelin colonisation
fruiting house.*
(ii) easy detecting of any contamination
o Incubation Room
 Autoclave bags can also be used in case they
 where spawning bags are incubated for
are found (treated bags)
substrate colonisation; covered with lack
sheet
o Steriliser
 for pasteurisation of the substrate

o Thermometer and Hygrometer

 to monitor the environment condition
o Spawning
(right temperature and humidity in the
 Mushroom seeds are technically referred to
house)
as spawn
o Sprayer and Watering can
 Spawning is the sowing of mushroom seeds
 for water application onto fruiting bags
during cropping
 to control humidity, water can be applied
Preparation of different materials to be used
on the floor by a bucket or watering can
as substrates for mushroom production

Page 32 of 65
 1. Maize stalks, rice straws and banana leaves
(i) finely chop the stalks, straws or leaves
(ii) pre-wet the chopped material by
soaking them in water overnight
(iii) drain them or incubate them on a
cemented platform or a plastic overnight
(iv) supplement them with rice or wheat
bran, water hyacinth or calcitic lime to
improve mushroom yield (mass)
(v) then pasteurise the content
2. Cotton wastes
(i) cotton waste is soaked or wetted for a
few hours in water to which a detergent
has been added as a softener and a
detergent
(ii) the water is squeezed out and the cotton
waste loosened
(iii) supplement with lime and other
materials
-to improve pH and aeration
(iv) then pasteurise the content
3 Saw dust
Saw dust must be obtained from hardwood, e.g.,
M’bawa, Muwanga or other broad-leaved trees.
(i) saw dust is wetted
(ii) incubate the wetted saw dust overnight
(iii) supplement with different materials
(iv) then pasteurise the content
4 Corn (Maize) cobs
(i) cobs are shredded into 1 to 2 cm pieces
(ii) cobs can be moisturised and incubated for
1 to 2 days
(iii) then pasteurise the content Sometimes the
immersion in hot water method can be
used
 done to leach the readily available nutrients in
order to reduce the risk of contamination
Stages for pasteurisation and spawning in
mushroom production
Page 33 of 65
1. Pack the substrate into a home-made sterilizer
 can be made from an open drum with a
platform and holes-after loading, it is tightly
covered with a plastic sheet or a sealable
cover with an opening. This is a semi-bulk
pasteurisation
2. Pasteurise for an hour and then empty the
pasteurised substrate onto a plastic sheet for it to
cool down to about 40 degrees Celsius
 In case where hot water immersion is used,
immerse the substrate for 30 to 40 minutes
3. Pack the substrate into bags while adding planting
spawn and then tie the mouth of the bags
 This should be done in an enclosed place
where there is no air current
4. Incubate the spawned bags in the dark or
alternatively cover with a plastic until the bags are
fully colonised
5. When the bags are fully colonised, transfer them
into fruiting house
 the fruiting house should provide enough light
for the mushroom to start forming
 the bags should be opened after for exposure
to light for one day
6. Maintain the temperature in the fruiting house
between 18 to 25 degrees Celsius and relative
humidity of 80% to 90%
 air freshness in the mushroom house should
be maintained-relative humidity is maintained
by
 applying water several times a day on
the floor and walls
 routine opening of the vents
*Poor fresh air (carbon dioxide
concentration) leads to poor fruiting
or deformity of mushroom.*
Conditions necessary for a Mushroom House
1. Siting of the mushroom house
 the house should be free from obstruction and
oriented in the direction of the wind such
thatventilators and doors face the direction of
wind for free air movent
 the house should be constructed away from
the rubbish pits, livestock kraals (kholas) and
latrines to avoid attraction of flies to
mushroom
2. Framework
 a wooden framework with a heavy plastic
sheet to control humidity
 thatched with grass outside for insulation.
Examples of materials for mushroom house
construction include:
(i) wooden poles
(ii) 500 or 600 gauge plastic sheets
(iii) bamboos
(iv) timber nails
(v) thatching grass
(vi) wire or plastic gauze
3. Dimensions
 small house should be 5m x 3m x 2m
 large house should be 7m x 5m x 3m
 mushrooms that are grown on shelves inside
the house shelves should be 0.5m x 1m
4. Composting
 The process whereby organic materials are
connected into a satisfactory and stable
medium for the growth of the mushroom
 The recommended quantities of ingredients
based on one tonne (1000kg) of well dried
cut maize stover or rice straw are:
-20kg of sulphate of ammonia
-20kg soya bean powder or cotton seed cake
-20kg white wash lime
-20kg molasses
-30kg single superphosphate
-30kg rice bran
Page 34 of 65
-150kg chicken manure
-10kg calcitic lime
5. Spawning
 The term ‘‘spawn’’ means mushroom seed.
 Spawning is the planting of mushroom seeds.
 Spawning should be done when moisture
content of the compost is about 70%.
-squeeze a handful of the compost and
planting should be done if it gives 4 to 6 drops
of water.
 Ensure that there is no ammonia odour and the
temperature of the compost should be about
25
 The recommended spawning rate is 400ml/m2
 The actual spawning is done by broadcasting
¾ of the required spawn quantity unto the
compost and mixing it thoroughly with the
compost right down to the bottom
 The remaining is broadcasted on top and is
incorporated into the remaining very top layer
of the compost (about 1cm deep)
NB:
o Make sure that the doors and ventilators are
closed on the day of spawning and 3 days after
spawning
o From day 4 after spawning, introduce
ventilation in the morning and evening for
30minutes at each time
o Colonisation of mushroom takes about 12 to
14 days after spawning
6. Casing
 This is the addition of the moist pasteurised
soil into the compost
 The casing soil must be clay loam subsoil,
low in organic matter and must have a pH of
7.0 to 7.5
  The casing soil is obtained after removal of b) Phorid and Scarid Flies
the top soil layer
 Casing soil must be pasteurised by steaming
at 70 to 80 for 15 minutes
 Casing is done at the end, about 14 days after
spawning when the compost is completely
colonised by white mycelia

Importance of casing soil

 It stimulates and promotes the formation of

fruiting bodies
 It retains the needed moisture for mushroom
growth
 The casing soil is part on the top of the
compost to a thickness of 3cm to 4cm.
–about 30litres of soil will be required
 The larvae feed on the mushroom
per m2
mycelia and eventually on the
 From casing to formation of fruiting
mushroom fruiting bodies
bodies the casing should be moist at all
 They also act as carriers of mites
the time and the temperature should be
and other fungal mushroom
between 16 and 22
contamination
 Mushroom pinheads start forming from
 They are less of a problem during
day 16 after casing
spawn run in sterilised mushroom
Pest and Disease Control for Mushroom bag production system since the
bags are sealed
A. Pests
c) Beetles
i. Insect pests
 They actually chew the mushroom
a) Mushroom Flies (Megaselia agarici)
from the inside (gill side) and tend
 They feed on the mushroom fruiting
to tunnel holes and hide in there
body and mycelia
when disturbed
 They also cause indirect damage
 They have a red or orange head and
since they carry mites, eelworms
dark wings
and spores of other moulds
Control
Control
 Handpicking the beetles
 Sanitation on and around the farm
 Remove the left over compost
 Burying of stems and pieces of
mushrooms after harvesting
Page 35 of 65
 ii. Mites  Spraying fungicides such as chlorinated lime
 They feed on mushroom mycelia and
the developed mushroom causing b) Wet bubble
surface discolouration  It is caused by Mycogone pernicious
Sign
Control
 Mushrooms are deformed
 Keep mushroom house and Control
surrounding clean  Use of bacteria and actinommycetes as biological
 Use malathione control measure
 Sprinkle lime  Steaming at 54.4˚C for 15 minutes
iii. Rodents (Rattus spp)  Benomyl spray
 They feed on the mushroom fruiting
body and mycelia c) Dry Bubble (Verticillium fungirola)
 They are very destructive as they  It is most severe in summer months
make unwanted holes in casing and (September to December) especially
compost when fly populations are high

Signs
Control
 Physically killing or using traps  Pale brown spots on the cap
 Mushroom stripes (stems)n with
iv. Molluscs or Snails tilted cap
 Appear in different forms and eat  Mushrooms are deformed
the mushroom during the night
Control
Control
 Practise farm hygiene to reduce
 In the early days when their fly population
populations are low, they can be  Reduce air temperature and
controlled by hand-picking,use humidity
of baits and traps  Sterilisation of substrate (heat
B. Diseases treatment)
a) Cob web
 It is caused by Cladobotyum dendroides d) Olive (Trichodema) Green Mould
(Chaetomium spp)
Sign
 The mould appears on the compost
 Soft rot or decay of fruiting body surface soon after pasteurisation and
Control can also lead to complete failure of
 Sterilisation mushroom growth
 Sanitation and hygiene (regular cleaning and
removal off dead mushrooms
Page 36 of 65
 Sign Factors that affect Yield Quantity of Mushroom

 Green grit-like projections on the  Variety

compost  Compost type
 Management
Control
NB
 Proper pasteurisation of
compost  Under smallholder farming the yield ranges
 Avoid over wetness, from 5kg to 10kg per m2
compactness and over  A cropping period of 8 to 10 weeks is normal
pasteurisation of compost  After the cropping period, the soil and the
e) Mat (Chrysosponun spp) compost should be removed in preparation for
 The disease is characterised by a new season
creamy to yellow mycelia fungal  It is possible to grow two crops in a year.
growth on both the compost and
Marketing Mushroom
casing soil, coating it completely

Mushrooms ready for the market are divided into

Prevention or Control
various grades depending on the:
 Ensure that casing is not
 size
shallow
 degree of maturity
 Observe farm hygiene

Grades of Mushroom
Harvesting Mushroom

Mushrooms may be graded as:

 Mushroom are ready for harvesting 14 to 20
days after casing i. Buttons
 They come quickly in flushes  These are closed mushrooms
 They would be small or big
Procedure for Harvesting Mushroom
 They fetch the highest market price
 Hold the cap, twist the mushroom and pull it ii. Caps
together with the roots  These are mushrooms whose veils have
 Cut off the roots and dispose them by burying opened or likely to open
 The holes left behind by the harvested  They still have rounded cap
mushrooms should be filled with fresh casing  They have a medium value
soil iii. Flats
 Water the beds soon after harvesting and leave  These are mushrooms whose veils have
all the vents opened for one to two hours to opened and the caps are flat and gills are
dry the surface exposed fully
 They normally fetch low prices

Page 37 of 65
TOPIC 8: AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT  Land Husbandry Training Centre in Zomba
AGENCIES AND THEIR SERVICES  Environmental Education Unit in Lilongwe

There are many agricultural services available in 2. Irrigation

Malawi. These include:  This is the service that rectifies the
 Land husbandry. problem of erratic and inadequate
rainfall experienced in Malawi
 Irrigation
 Irrigation helps to reduce the risk of
 Farm settlement
crop failure so that enough can still be
 Farm mechanisation
produced to support the population
 Seed technology
 Crop protection
 Provision of farm inputs Agencies that provide irrigation services
 Soil testing
 Agricultural credit to smallholder farmers  Department of Irrigation
 Farm management
 The Department emphasises self-
 Food nutrition
help, small-scale and community
 Extension and training
ownership of the schemes
 Marketing
Ways of irrigation instituted

1. Land husbandry  Sprinkler irrigation

 These are agricultural services that deals
with land resources
 These services have come into existence
due to the increasing demand for land
resources as a result of rapid population
increase in Malawi
Aim
 Land husbandry services aim at
promoting the sustainable use of land
resources for agricultural production.
Examples of land husbandry services in Malawi:
 Guiding and creating awareness among
farmers and the general public about the
scarcity and availability of land resources in
the country
 Providing relevant information, knowledge
and skills in all aspects of land use and
environmental conservation
 Encouraging and helping farmers to construct
and establish physical and biological soil
conservation structures
Agencies that provide land husbandry services in
Malawi:
 Land Resources and Conservation Unit
 Agricultural extension staff in all Agricultural
Development Divisions (ADDs)
Page 38 of 65
 Treadle pumps irrigation
 Motorised pumps irrigation
 Boreholes/shallow wells irrigation
3. Farm settlement
 This service is concerned with the
availability of land for agricultural
production.
 Some people settle in areas where
there is fertile arable land with a
favourable agricultural climate
(especially rainfall) exists
Aims of farm settlement
 Promote special crops such as cotton
and tobacco , maize and groundnuts
 Promote the participation of women in
agricultural development
 Encourage handicapped people,
especially the blind, to contribute
toward agricultural development
 Give farmers who have very few land
holdings the opportunity to participate
in farming
 Improve the spreading of improved
agricultural practices to neighbouring
rural community
 Agencies that provide Farm settlement in Agencies that provide mechanisation services in
Malawi Malawi

 The government’s Rainfall  Ox-training Units in each ADD

Settlements Schemes
 In these schemes farmers are helped
by:
 Advice from extension workers
 Assistance from other facilities
available, e.g, credit
5. Seed technology
 This is the provision of good quality seed for
improved crop varieties to smallholder farmers
for increased crop production

Roles of Agencies for seed technology services in

Examples of Rainfall Settlement Schemes in Malawi
Malawi by ADD
 Certified seed for hybrid maize, sunflower and
ADD Rainfall Settlement tobacco can be obtained from:
Schemes  The Agricultural Development and
Karonga Kasama Marketing Corporation (ADMARC)
Mzuzu Kabwafu and Mjinge
 The National Seed Company of Malawi
Kasungu Kafulu and Sopani
(NSCM)
Salima Chinguluwe
Machinga Rivirivi  Lever Brothers (Malawi) Limited
Blantyre Mlomba  The seed section of the Department of
Agricultural Research (DAR) is responsible
for:
4. Farm mechanization i. Testing
 Use of animal-drawn farm implements ii. Certifying
or motorise farm machinery iii. Monitoring the production,
 This helps to complete farm processing, storage and marketing
operations in time, so that high yields of seed
can be obtained.
Examples of farm mechanisation services in 6. Crop protection
Malawi Objective
 To minimise losses due to pests, diseases or
 Training farmers in the selection, care
weeds
and management of draught animals
Examples of crop protection services in Malawi
and the maintenance of implements
 Training draught animals in ploughing,  Breeding and releasing resistant crop varieties
ridging and cultivating by the Department of Agricultural Research
 Introducing and supplying alternative  Establishing plant quarantines and other
sources of draught animals such as government control measures
donkeys  Plant pest diagnostic advisory services by the
 Improving the availability of both Department of Agricultural Research (includes
hand-operated and animal-powered advising farmers on Integrated Pest
machinery for farmers to buy through Management)
credit  Recommending the use of specific pesticides
 Testing and releasing small scale supplied by ADMARC
machines such as grain dehullers, oil
extraction machines and water pumps

Page 39 of 65
 Agencies that provide crop protection services in Examples of service providers established by
Malawi the Malawi government include:

 Department of Agricultural Research  Malawi Rural Finance Company (MRFC)

 ADMARC located in every Agricultural Extension
Planning Area (EPA)
7. Provision of farm inputs MRFC provide credit facilities:
Aim
 Smallholder farmers who cultivate under
 Encouraging farmers to use
customary land tenure and government
recommended inputs (e.g, stock feeds
agricultural schemes
and fertilizers) and to ensure that they
 Small estate farmers owning less than 30
are properly used
hectares
Main agencies for the provision of fertilizers
in Malawi
10. Farm management
 Agora  This is a service that aims at assisting the
 The Agricultural Trading Company smallholder farmers to improving
(ATC) production
 ADMARC  This ensures
 Norsk hydro i. effective use of available resources
 OPTCHEM ii. appropriate combination of enterprises
 Farmers’ World iii. proper farm planning
Main manufacturers and suppliers of stock
feeds in Malawi Service provider for farm management
 Rab processors  Agriculture extension workers
 Grain and Milling Company
11. Food and nutrition
8. Soil testing Objectives
 This service is concerned with knowing the
availability of different plant nutrients in  Helping smallholder farmers in
different soils ensuring food security through
Aim increased and diversified production
and decreased post-harvest losses
 To determine the correct type and amount  Establishing systems for assessing
of fertilizers to be applied for high crop household food security and early
production predictions of shortfall areas
Agencies that provide soil testing services in  Monitoring the food and nutrition
Malawi situation in Extension Planning Areas,
 Agricultural Research Stations Rural Development Projects,
Examples of Agricultural Research Stations Agricultural Development Divisions
include: and at national level
Food and nutrition services are provided by:
i. Bvumbwe Research Station in Thyolo
ii. Chitedze Research Station in Lilongwe  A food and Nutrition Unit established
by the Ministry of Agriculture
9. Agricultural credit to smallholder farmers
12. Extension and training
 Credit is a source of capital
Aim
 It promotes improved agricultural
production  To offer technical information, advisory
and support services to smallholder
Page 40 of 65
 farmers to enable them to increase
production to meet their needs
Service provider
 Extension Departments in each EPA
Examples of extension services in Malawi
 Providing direction and technical
agricultural advice and information to
smallholder farmers
 Providing training to farmers at Farm
Training Centres to change attitudes, and
improve knowledge and skills
 Strengthening links between researchers
and farmers
13. Marketing
Objectives
 To ensure agricultural inputs available to
the farmer at the right time
 To ensure that the farmer is able to sell
farm produce at the expected time and
price
Examples of marketing agencies in Malawi
 Marketing boards, e.g, ADMARC
 Co-operatives
 Processors
 Itinerant traders
 Wholesalers
 Retailers
 Commission agents and brokers
Page 41 of 65
TOPIC 9: BUDGETING
Definitions
A budget is a plan of expenditure and receipts of an
enterprise.
Budgeting is a process of planning how income may
be realised and expenditures may be incurred.
Farm budgeting refers to the process of farm planning
in terms of receipts and expenditures of an enterprise.
Types of budgets
 Partial budgets
 Complete budgets
1. Partial budget
Consider the following case study:
Mrs Maya grows beans on the whole of her
five hectare land and is a trusted supplier of
beans for three boarding secondary schools in
Mzimba district. She wants to expand her
business by increasing the number of hectares
to eight to supply beans to all the five boarding
secondary schools in the district. But she
doesn’t know if this will still be profitable.
Question: Explain what Mrs Maya would do before
implementing the intended change in her business?
Answer: Mrs Maya would first examine the total
benefits/income and total costs/loss to determine
profitability of the enterprise if the proposed change is
to be implemented (Critically analyse the proposed
change before implementation). Hence, needs to make
a partial budget.
 What is “Partial budgeting”?
Partial budgeting is a planning and decision
making framework farm business owners can
use to compare the costs and benefits of
alternatives they face.
Situations where partial budgeting is required:
 Expanding the existing enterprise or
make additions to existing enterprise (eg,
the farmer may want to increase the area
for crops or increase the number of
livestock for dairy, beef, broiler or egg
production)
 Change one enterprise for another (this is
referred to as substitution-can be part or
whole)
 Introduce a new enterprise (the farmer
can introduce one enterprise without
necessarily changing other enterprises)
 Buy new farm machinery or equipment
  Adopt a change in method of production,
eg, introducing the use of machine to
shell groundnuts or maize, instead of
shelling by hand
 In doing partial budgeting, only one alternative
or change at time should be looked at. When
more than one alternative is to be examined,
each alternative should be looked at separately
before a comparison can be made.
 Analysis should base on how the decision will
affect the profitability of the business
enterprise and the farm itself.
 Why prepare a partial budget?
 A quick method of investment analysis
 Can show results of projected changes
clearly
 Isolates the impact of a change rather than
considering all costs in the business
 What should be included in a partial budget?
Contains only those
income and expense items which change if the
proposed alteration in the farm plan is
implemented. Those that remain the same are
NOT included.
 Partial budget answers the question, “what
would happen if…?”
 What are the components of a partial budget?
There are two main parts of a partial budget.
These are “benefits or positives” and “costs or
negatives”.
 Benefits column comprises
(i) Additional returns (income)
due to change
(ii) Reduced costs due to change
(iii) Total benefits (additional
returns + reduced costs)
 Costs column consists of
(i) Additional costs due to change
(ii) Reduced returns (income) due
to change
(iii) Total costs (additional costs +
reduced returns)
The last component of the partial budget is the Net
change (Total benefits - Total costs).
 When constructing a partial budget think of
how “THE CHANGE” will affect each of the
following category:
 Additional returns are those income that
occur if the change takes place (added
income)
 Reduced costs are those expenses that are
lower under the proposed change
Page 42 of 65
 Additional costs are those that are only
incurred if the change is implemented
(expenses that did not exist before)
 Reduced returns is that income that
would no longer be received if the change
is initiated (cut off income)
 Net change is the difference between
positive and negative economic effects of
taking the proposed change
NOTE: The success of a partial budget depends on
prediction accuracy, which depends on accuracy of the
information and estimates it contains. Therefore there
is need to collect factual data about a proposed change
and provide reasonable estimates of such items as
future prices, yields and gains.
 What steps should someone follow when
preparing a Partial Budget?
1. Define the reason for the change. This is the
objective of the change.
2. List the possible alternatives. This is a list of
all alternatives available to obtain the desired
objective.
3. State the proposed change. Write descriptive
statement of the proposed adjustment or
change to be made.
4. List the reduced costs. This is a list of
discontinued or scaled down variable expense
(feed, supplies, hired labour, etc) and fixed
expense (depreciation, interest and unpaid
labour) if the change results in eliminating or
reducing the investment in machinery,
equipment, buildings, breeding livestock or
land.
5. List the expected additional returns. List of
farm income increase when a new enterprise is
added, when an enterprise is expanded or if the
change causes production levels to increase.
6. List of additional costs. A new or expanded
enterprise might require the purchase of
additional or new inputs as additional cash
expense; and new machines, buildings, land,
or livestock as additional fixed costs.
Depreciation and interest should be average
annual values and classified as non-cash costs.
7. List of reduced returns. If the proposed change
eliminates an enterprise, reduces the size of an
enterprise, or causes a reduction in production
levels. Compute the receipts that would be
given up when the proposed change is in
effect.
8. Estimate change in net farm income.
Subtracting total costs (negatives or
disadvantages) from total benefits (positives or
advantages).
9. Calculate flow projection. If net farm income
is positive, then it is advisable to do a cash
flow projection on the proposed change to see
 how the cash position on the farm is affected
yearly. Otherwise the proposed change is not
economically viable.
10. List other considerations. These may include
acquiring loan, labour, time lag between initial
start and full production, amount of risk for the
enterprise and others.
11. Deciding whether to make a change. This is
the decision making stage. The decision is
based on economic benefits out lined by the
positive total net income for all alternatives of
the enterprise.
Activity (in groups)
Use the information below to prepare a Partial Budget.
Mr Phiri intends to reduce the acreage under maize by
one hectare to cater for the two extra cows. Each cow
requires the purchase of a replacement heifer each year
at MK100000, while the cull price per cow is
MK90000. Milk yield for each cow is 3000kg per year,
price of milk is MK200 per kg. Each cow gives birth to
a calf worth MK20000 every year. Veterinary service
charge per cow is MK30000 per year, while the cost of
concentrates and minerals per cow is MK7200 per
year.
The seedbed preparation cost for maize production is
MK50000/ha. Planting and fertilizer cost MK10000/ha
and MK90000/ha respectively. Pest control cost for
stalk borer is MK6000/ha, weeding cost is
MK24000/ha, while the cost of harvesting maize is
MK24000/ha. Gunny bags for packing maize are
purchased at MK300 each. Maize yield is 60 bags per
ha, and the maize price is MK12500 per bag.

Response:

Mr Phiri’s Partial Budget: Shift from maize growing to raising replacement heifer (Yearly)

Benefits Costs
Additional returns Amount (MK) Additional costs Amount (MK)
Sale of milk: Replacement heifer
3000 x 2 at MK200/kg = 1 200 000 MK100000 x 2 = 200 000
Sale of extra calves at Concentrate and minerals
MK20000 x 2 = 40 000 MK7200 x 2 = 14 400
Cull price at MK90000 x 2 = 180 000 Veterinary services
MK30000 x 2 = 60 000
Reduced costs Reduced returns
Maize production Income from maize at
Seed bed preparation = 50 000 MK12500 x 60 bags = 750 000
Planting = 10 000
Fertilizer = 90 000
Stalk borer dust = 6 000
Weeding = 24 000
Harvesting = 24 000
Gunny bags at MK300 x 60 bags = 18 000
Total benefits = 1 642 000 Total costs = 1 024 400
Net change revenue = 617600

2. Complete budget

A complete budget is a plan that is done for the whole farm.

Situations for a complete budget

 When proposed changes in the farm are major

 When planning for a new farm
NOTE: A complete budget considers both variable and fixed inputs.

Page 43 of 65
Guidelines to follow when preparing a complete budget

1. Formulate goals and objectives

2. Take inventory of the farm.
 Include all assets present in the farm
3. Plan for various resources, e.g,
 How land is to be utilised
 How labour is to be utilised
 How capital is to be utilised
4. Estimate income and expenditure.
 Use current costs and prices
5. Analyse the input to output relationship that may exist in the farm.
6. Draw alternative farm plans.
 Choose one of the plans for adoption
7. Implement the chosen plan.
8. Evaluate the plan.
 In the course of production
 Determine the weakness
 Improve on its weakness

Example of a complete budget

Maize on a 2 hectare piece of land

Item Unit Price/cost Quantity Value Total cost

per unit (MK) (MK)
(MK)
Receipts
Sale of crop 90 kg bag 2 725 48 130 800
Sale of maize stalks for
fodder 1 hectare 10 000 2 20 000
Total receipts 150 800
Variable costs
Seeds 1kg 800 44 17 600 35 200
Fertiliser
 Nitrogenous 50 kg bag 5 000 4 10 000 20 000
 Phosphatic 50 kg bag 5 000 3 6 000 12 000
Chemicals
 Pesticides
Tractor hire
Casual labour 1 kg 600 2 600 1 200
Miscellaneous Hectare 16 000 2 16 000 32 000
Man/day 200 50 5 000 10 000
5 000 10 000
Total variable cost 120 400
Fixed costs
Permanent labour Man/month 20 000 2 20 000 40 000
Utilities
 Water Meter/month 1 700 12 months 20 400
 Electricity Meter/month 2 500 12 months 30 000
Management charges Month 30 000 12 months 360 000
Total fixed costs 450 400

Page 44 of 65
 3. Break-Even budget

Definition:

A break-even budget is the one that indicates the level of production (or price) at which the business unit makes
neither a PROFIT nor a LOSS.

 It is where Total Revenue (TR) is equal to Total Costs (TC).

 TR = TC
 TR = Price per kg x quantity of produce
 TC = Fixed Costs + Variable Costs (FC + VC)
 Variable costs are those that change (vary) in proportion to the size of the enterprise, e.g., cost of seed,
fertilizer, pesticides and herbicides
 Fixed costs are those that do not vary with the size of enterprise, e.g., depreciation (of farm buildings and
machinery), cost of permanent (regular)

Calculating break-even point

Table below shows Gross Margin (GM) and break-even point- Mr Phiri growing maize in a dimba garden

Items Green maize Dry maize

Green maize 10000 cobs@ MK20 each
Dry maize 50 bags (50kg each) @ MK3000/bag MK200000 MK150000
Total Revenue MK200000 MK150000
LESS:
Variable Costs
Seed 50kg @ MK300/kg MK 1500 MK 1500
Fertiliser 50kg @ MK280/kg MK14000 MK14000
Casual labour MK10000 MK10000
Chemicals MK 2000 MK 2000
Total Variable Costs (MK27000) (MK27000)
Gross Margin (GM) = TR-VC MK127000 MK122500
LESS:
Fixed Costs
Regular labour MK18000 MK18000
Net Profit (GM-FC) MK154000 MK104500

Using the table above, calculate:

i. Break-even yield for green and dry maize

ii. Break-even price for green and dry maize

Answer:

i. Total revenue = Total cost

Quantity x Unit Price = VC + FC
Quantity = = = = 1875 cobs

ii. Quantity x Unit Price = Total cost

Unit Price = = = MK759/bag

Page 45 of 65
Note: -This is the selling price for dry maize at which the farmer does not make profit or loss

-The farmer can only choose this option if the market price for dry maize is higher than MK750 per bag

TOPIC 10: LIVESTOCK FEEDS AND FEEDING  Their nutritional value is determined by the
type of forage and stage of maturity at the
Definitions time of feeding.
 Feeds are animal foods.  Ruminants are the ones that have the best
 A feed is a mixture of several feedstuffs that potential to digest roughages.
will supply the required nutrients to animals.
 Feedstuff is food material containing one or
more nutrients.
 Feeding is the act of giving feed to livestock.
Type of succulent roughages
Classes of feed
i. Young pasture grass, e.g., kikuyu grass,
1. Roughages star grass.
ii. Fodder crops- these are forages that are
Roughages are feedstuffs that have a high crude harvested and fed to livestock or preserved
fibre content and low in protein. as silage or hay, e.g., Napier grass, maize
stalk, Guatemala grass, sorghum and
Examples of roughages
Sudan grass.
 Fresh grass or green fodder. iii. Pasture legumes- these are rich in proteins
 Silage. and minerals, e.g., Lucerne, Desmodium
 Hay. spp, Glycine spp.
iv. Browsing trees and shrubs, e.g., Acacia
General characteristics of roughages  mainly found in semi-arid.
 good feeds for sheep and goats
 Have high crude fibre content (over
v. brassica vegetables (cabbages, kale)
20%).
 Kale is rich in vitamins and minerals.
 Are low in protein.
 Are low in digestibility. Other examples of succulent roughages

Types of roughages  sweet potatoes vines.

 turnips.
(i) Succulent roughages  groundnut haulms.
 They are bulky, with a high mass matter per  Russian comfrey.
unit.
 They have high moisture content (20%-50%) (ii) Dry succulent roughages
with low dry matter content.  Contain very little moisture (less than
 They have reasonably high crude fibre 20%).
content.  They have low energy value.
 They are rich in carbohydrates and low  They are low in feed value.
protein.  They are very fibrous.
 They contain carotene, which is rich in  They are good for bulkiness.
vitamin A.

Page 46 of 65
 Examples of dry roughages -sources are palm oil, sunflower,
coconut, groundnuts and cotton.
 Hay.
 Straws and stovers.  Non-protein nitrogen source, e.g., urea
 Chaff.
 Oats. -an important protein feed for non-
ruminants.
Sources of dry roughages
 Animal by-products, e.g., bone meal,
 Grasses. meat meal, blood meal, fish meal, liver
 Legumes. meal, etc.
 Other crop residues. -they are high digestible.
-they are rich in proteins.
2. Concentrates -they are highly palatable.
 These are feeds whose dry matter is high in  Whole milk and milk products
carbohydrates and proteins. (including whey and skim milk)
 They are low in crude fibre and moisture. -they are balanced feed for
 They are main diet of non-ruminant livestock.
animals.
Otherlivestock feeds
 They supplement grazing in ruminants.
 Mineral and vitamin supplements, e.g.,
Types of concentrates
mineral lick (e.g., Macklic salt).
a) Carbohydrate concentrates  Feed additives, e.g., coccidiostats,
 They are rich in energy. stilboestrol
-coccidiostats is used against
Examples of carbohydrate concentrates coccidiosis.
-stilboestrol is used in beef animals to
 Cereal grains, e.g., maize, wheat, oats,
increase meat and muscle.
barley and sorghum.
 Processed cereals, e.g., wheat bran, NOTE:
maize bran and barley bran
they are rich in phosphorus but  Feed additives are hormones and
low in calcium. antibiotics incorporated in commercial
 Molasses. feed.
 Brewer’s by-products, e.g., dregs.  Feed additives are NOT livestock
b) Protein concentrates feeds.
 They high protein content in their dry
Functions of feed additives
matter.
 to promote growth.
Examples of protein concentrates
 to promote disease resistance.
 Legumes and oil seeds, e.g., sunflower,  to improve feeding efficiency in
beans, peas or cowpeas. livestock
 Legumes and oil seed cakes (meals)

The composition of feed and the functions of nutrients

Nutrient Function Source

 provide energy o the body  cereals, e.g., maize, sorghum, millet,
Carbohydr  excess carbohydrates are stored in the form madeya
ates (made of fats  potato vines
up of  grass
Page 47 of 65
starches  root tubers, e.g., cassava
and simple
sugars)
Proteins  essential for body building and repair of  grain legumes, e.g., beans, soya beans,
(made up worn out tissues groundnuts
of amino  essential component of enzymes , hormones  meat, liver, milk
acids) and antibodies  bone and fish meal
 excess proteins are converted into energy
Fats and  provide energy (twice as much as  oil seeds, e.g., groundnuts and cotton
oils carbohydrates seed
 soya beans
 meat, eggs, milk
 fish meal and bone meal
Minerals:  bone formation  milk, meat
calcium  essential for milk production  bone meal
and  calcium for egg shells  lime
phosphorus
Magnesiu  for healthy bones and teeth  milk
m  helps to metabolise carbohydrates  cereal grains
 leafy vegetables
Iron  part of haemoglobin  egg yolk
 prevents anaemia
Iodine  essential for the growth of the thyroid gland,  iodised salt
which produces thyroxin
Copper and  form art of haemoglobin and enzymes  salts containing copper and cobalt
cobalt (cobalt is part of vitamin B12)  most vegetables containing copper and
 improves appetite in ruminants cobalt
 prevent anaemia
 maintains blood pressure
 essential for bile formation
Sodium  maintains blood pressure  common salt
 essential for bile formation  rock salt
Manganese  helps in bone formation and enzymatic  most feeds
reactions
 essential for metabolism of proteins and
carbohydrates
Chlorine  part of gastric juice  common salt
 aids digestion  rock salt
Potassium  helps in the functioning of the muscles and  potassium chloride
the heart  grass
 activates enzymes
Zinc  helps in enzymatic reactions  most feeds
Vitamin A  needed for good eyesight and growth  milk
(soluble in  essential for prevention of diseases  fresh grass
fat)  yellow maize
 fish
 cold liver oil
Vitamin B  helps in the metabolism of carbohydrates,  green vegetables
(water proteins and fats  groundnut meal
soluble)  cereals
 fish meal
 ruminants are able to synthesise
vitamin B through the micro-organisms
that are found in the rumen
Vitamin C  important for disease resistance  green leafy vegetables

Page 48 of 65
(water  fruits
soluble)
Vitamin D  essential for bone formation  sunlight
(soluble in  prevents rickets in animals  fish
fat)  liver oil
 yeast
 green grass
 hay
Vitamin E  essential for the proper functioning of the  grains
(soluble in reproductive system- prevents sterility in  groundnut oil
fat) animals  green vegetables
 grass
 green folder
 soya beans
VitaminK  essential for blood clotting – prevents  all feeds, especially succulent
(soluble in bleeding roughages or leafy vegetables
fat)  helps transport nutrients
Water  essential for body fluids  drinking water
 maintenance of body shape

Importance of feeding livestock  Maintenance ration is particularly important

for
 For maintenance of their bodies  Young growing livestock.
 to avoid loss of condition or becoming  Livestock in gestation.
thin
 For reproduction
 To produce young ones or off-spring
2. Production ration
 For production of meat, milk, eggs or wool
 A production ration is an amount of feed that
 For the health of the animals
contains all the essential nutrients and in the
 Vitamins and minerals protect them
right proportions given to livestock over and
from diseases
above the maintenance ration.
Feed rations  Production ration is essential for livestock to
produce, e.g.,
 Feed ration is the amount of feed given to  Layers to produce eggs.
livestock at a given time.  Broilers or beef cattle and meat goats to
 Livestock need to be well-fed with balanced produce meat.
rations to grow well and produce.  Dairy cattle and goats to produce milk.
 A balanced ration is an amount of feed that
contains all the nutrients needed by the Formulating feed rations
livestock and in the right proportions.
 A well-known method for formulating feed
 The ration is calculated according to the
rations is the use of the Pearson’s Square.
amount of feed that the livestock needs per
day. Steps to be followed in a Pearson’s Square

Types of rations 1. Draw a square and put the desired percentage

protein content of the mixture feed in the
1. Maintenance ration
centre.
 A maintenance ration is an amount of feed that
2. Place the percentage of each feed to be mixed
the livestock needs per day to maintain its
at the left corners
bodily processes, without gaining or losing
3. Subtract the figures diagonally across the
weight.
square. Remember to subtract the smaller

Page 49 of 65
 numbers from the bigger ones. Disregard the Example:
negative signs.
4. Place the numbers obtained on the right Question:
corners, giving the required parts of each Using a Pearson’s Square, formulate a 20% protein
feedstuff. feed using maize meal containing 12% crude
protein and bean meal containing 36% crude
protein.

Answer:

A Pearson’s Square

Maize meal 16 parts

12% crude protein (CP) maize meal

20%CP

Bean meal 8 parts

36% crude protein (CP) bean meal

Total = 24 parts

Meaning:

When making a mixture, measure 16 parts of maize meal and 8 parts of bean meal. The implication is that a 50kg
mixture will have: x 50kg = 33.3 kg maize meal and x 50kg = 16.7 kg bean meal.

Factors to consider when feeding livestock  Animals that produce milk, meat and
eggs need concentrates.
 Age of the animal  The condition of the animal.
 Young animals require less feed than  Livestock should not starve.
older animals.  Also, feed should not be wasted.
 Young animals require feed that is richer  The quality of the feed.
in protein than older animals  The feed should be easy to ingest and
 Size of the animal. digest.
 The larger the animal, the greater the  Palatability of the feed.
amount of feed required  Feed should be appetising to animals.
 The type of animal.  Digestibility.
 Ruminants can digest roughages while  Digestibility is the degree to which the
most non-ruminants cannot. animal is able to digest the feed.
 Exotic breeds require good quality feed  It depends on the type of animal.
to produce high yield.
 The amount of feed.
 The purpose for which the livestock are kept.  Although animals are advised to be
 Draught animals require high-energy fed on ad lib, they should just eat
feed. enough of the feed.
Page 50 of 65
  The amount of feed depends on its  Karakul
quality and type.
 Texture of feed. Goats Indigenous  Malawi goat
 Texture of feed refers to the  Small East African
coarseness or fineness of the feed. goat
 Chickens, for example, prefer coarse
feed. Exotic  Angora
 Cost of the feed.  British Saanen
 It determines the number of each
livestock type to be kept.  British Alpine
 Animals should be given the right feed
 Toggenburg
at the right period of production to
avoid waste of resources.  Boer goat
 This determines profitability of the
business.  Anglo-Nubian goat
 Ad lib means that livestock should eat when,
and as much as, they like.

SHEEP AND GOAT PRODUCTION Characteristics of local sheep and goats

Importance of sheep and goats  They are small.

 Both provide meat, i.e., goat meat and mutton/  They grow slowly.
lamb (meat from sheep). Lamb is meat from
young lambs up to nine months old.  Their yield is low.

 Both provide skins. NOTE: The yields of local sheep and goats can be
improved by cross-breeding them with exotic breeds
 Sheep provide wool.
Main uses of exotic breeds of sheep and goats
 Goats provide milk. Goat milk is easily
digestible and suitable for babies and children. Type of Breed Use
animal
 Both a source of prestige.
Sheep  Malawian sheep Meat, hides,
 Both are a source of income. manure

 Both provide valuable manure for vegetable  Hampshire down Meat

and field crop production. (mutton)
 Dorset horn Mutton and
 Goats, e.g., Angora, provide mohair. wool
 Blackhead Persian Mutton
Types and breeds of sheep and goats  Dorper Mutton

Type of Type of breed Examples of breed  Merino Wool

animal
 Karakul Skin (pelt)
Sheep Indigenous Malawi sheep (fat tailed)
Goats  Angora goat Mohair
Exotic  Dorper
 British Saanen Milk
 Blackhead Persian

 Merino  Anglo-Nubian goat Milk, meat

Page 51 of 65
  British Alpine Milk  Select lambs that gave birth to the best
lambs during the previous years.
 Toggenburg Milk
ii. Cross-breeding
 Boer goat Meat
This is where local sheep are allowed to mate with
exotic breeds. This depends on the use of the sheep to
be kept.
Sheep

Criteria for selecting a breed of sheep

Age for breeding sheep
 The primary use or product. Mutton sheep
 The recommended age to serve (mate) ewes is
 Should have good mothering ability of ewes. when they are two years old. Nevertheless,
 Should be fast growing and mature. they can be initially be served at the age of 18
months.
 Should have a blocky or rectangular body
shape.  Ram lambs can be used for breeding at the age
of about 8 months.
 Should have a good body weight.
 Rams are allowed to moved together with
 Should produce good quality mutton. ewes only during mating times. This is to
avoid in-breeding.
 Adaptation to climatic and local environment.
 The recommended ratio of ram to ewes is
 Efficiency in converting feed 1:10-20. However, one ram can service up to
60 ewes.
 Good mothering ability
NOTE:
The management of sheep
Ewes that are not required for breeding should be
The following are the four activities involved in
fattened and sold for meat while ram lambs should be
livestock management.
castrated.
 Breeding
Castration
 Housing.
 This is the act of removing the testicles of a
 Feeding. male animal.

 Disease and parasite control. Reasons for castration

Breeding sheep  Castrated animals fatten up quickly and

produce quality meat.
This is where the farmer makes a decision on the type
of sheep to keep.  Castration prevents the animals from mating
and passing on less desirable characteristics
Methods of improving breeds of sheep
 Castration makes the animals move docile,
i. Selection method and, therefore easier to handle.
Guidelines

 Select the ewe (young female sheep) and

rams (male sheep) from mothers that have
reared healthy lambs.

Page 52 of 65
 Methods of castration
1. Using a burdizzo.
 It crushes the spermatic chords above the
testicles.
 This prevents the testicles from developing.
 It is done when the animals are about 2 to 3
months old.
2. Using a sharp knife
 It cuts the scrotum or sac containing testicles
open.
 He testicles are then removed.
 The cut is then treated with a disinfectant to
prevent infection.
3. Using a strong rubber band or elastor
 It is placed on the scrotum and above the
testicles.
 It cuts off the blood supply to the testicles.
 The scrotum and testicles drop off after few
weeks.
 This method is used when the animals are up
to one week old.
Page 53 of 65
Time for breeding sheep
 It is important to time breeding so that lambing
takes place when there is plenty of green grass.
 In Malawi ewes should be mated sometime in
November, so that lambing is in April or early
May.
 Farmers should therefore follow the oestrus cycle
of their sheep.
Oestrus cycle in sheep
 Oestrus refers to the occurring period of sexual
receptivity in female mammals.
 Oestrus is also called heat.
 The onset of oestrus is a sign of maturity and the
ability to reproduce.
 In ewes, the first oestrus can occur at about six to
ten months of age.
 Oestrus cycle is the period between consecutive
oestrus.
 The oestrus cycle in sheep is between fifteen and
nineteen days.
 Oestrus cycle lasts for 18 to 24 hours.
Flushing in sheep
 Flushing is when ewes are given some
concentrates two weeks before they are mated.
Reasons for flushing
 To improve health of the ewes.
 To improve fertility of the ewes.
Gestation period in sheep
 The gestation period in sheep lasts for five
months (150 days)
 To ensure that they are in good health and fof
successful lambing, at this stage ewes should be:
 Regularly dosed or drenched against
internal parasites
 Vaccinated against diseases
 Given quality pasture, silage or hay
 Given some concentrates one to two
months before lambing (steaming up)
Lambing
Lambing refers to giving birth of an offspring in sheep
Signs for lambing
 Ewes tend to be restless
 Ewes tend to leave the rest of the flock and
search for a quieter place
 The vulva of the ewe becomes red
 There is frequent bleating
NOTE:
 At this time the ewe should be moved to a
lambing paddock or pen
 Ewes rarely need help during parturition
(giving birth)normal birth is head and fore
legs in front
 Breech birth is the case of abnormal birth
 In case of breech birth, the ewe will need
to be assisted
 As soon as the lambs are born, they should
be assisted to suckle their mothers
Caring for lambs
Lambs should be allowed to suckle up to the age of six
months
 Supplementary feeds should be given to the
lambs as soon as the yield of milk has started
to decline (this is applicable even before the
age of six years)
 Vaccinate and drench the lambs against
diseases and parasites
 Castrate the lambs after one or two months
Page 54 of 65
 Castrated lambs should be fattened and
slaughtered after six months
 Docking and trimming should be done before
the lamb is too old
 Docking is done about 5 cm from the body
 Docking means cutting of the tails
 Trimming is the cutting back overgrowing
hooves using clippers
Reasons for docking and trimming
 Docking lambs prevents dirt and dung
from collecting under the tail, which could
otherwise be a source of infections
 Docking lambs helps in parasite control
 Docking helps to improve the quality of
the carcass in fat-tailed sheep
 Docking helps the animals to mate easily
 Trimming helps to prevent the lambs from
lameness
Housing sheep
 Houses for sheep vary depending on the type
of management system being followed, i.e.,
 A simple pole and thatch house for
extensive system
 An elaborate house for intensive system
Characteristics of a good house for sheep
 It must be strongly built because sheep are
prone to predators
 It must be spacious
 It must be well-ventilated and well-lit
 It must be dry and warm
 It must be easy to clean
 It must be easy and cheap to construct
 It should be properly thatched
 It should have feed or water troughs
Feeding sheep
 Ewes must be put on flushing (given some
concentrates two weeks before mating), e.g., maize
meal , madeya, bean or pea meal
-flushing helps to induce the heat period
-flushing ensures that the ewe’s bodies are
ready to conceive
 Ewes need steaming up (putting ewes onto good  Lambs should suckle their mothers’ milk during
nutritious grass or pasture about two months the first three weeks or so
before lambing)  this milk is innutritious
 steaming up allows the embryo to develop  the milk contains antibodies which protect
properly in the womb the lambs from diseases
 Fattening lambs should be given high-energy  lambs should be helped to learn to eat grass after
concentrates three weeks

Disease and parasite control for sheep

Disease Causal organism Signs and symptoms Treatment/control

Foot and Virus  blisters/sores in the mouth and on the feet  vaccination every six
mouth  animals become lame and cannot walk long months and restricting
distances movement
 become weak and lose weight since they (quarantine)
cannot eat
 high fever
 salivation and lameness
Anthrax Bacterium  high fever  treat with antibiotics,
 bowel inflammation e.g., penicillin during
 sudden death early stages
 destroy and bury any
animal which dies
suddenly
Brucellosis Bacterium  abortion- after 6 months of pregnancy  isolate and cull sick
(contagious  scrotum and testes become enlarged and animals
abortion) painful in rams  slaughter and burn
 high fever infected animals
 vaccination
Heart water Protozoa parasite  rise in body temperature  Treating the animal
(transmitted by  muscle twitching with sulphonamides
ticks)  animal walks in circles or bangs against or tetracycline early
objects  Controlling ticks
 animal paddles its legs before dying prevents spread of the
disease

Tuberculosis Bacteria  Loss of body weight  Treat with antibiotics

 Persistent coughing  Cull diseased animals
Lump skin Virus  Loss of appetite  Vaccination
 Rise in body temperature
 Salivation and clear discharge from the nose
 Lumps in the skin
Sheep pox Virus  High fever  Vaccination
 Diarrhoea
 Small red pimples around mouth and under
tai
 Blotched skin
Pulpy Bacterium  Sudden death  Treat with anti-biotics
kidney  Softening of the kidney early
 Vaccination
Page 55 of 65
Lamb Bacterium  Sudden death  Vaccinate ewes
dysentery  Diarrhoea during the last month
 Fever of pregnancy
Black Bacterium  Loss of appetite  Vaccinate the animal
quarter  Rise of body temperature regularly
 Lameness  Restrict movement
 Swelling of shoulder or hips (quarantine)
 Safe disposal of dead
animals (carcasses)
Rinderpest Virus  Lesions in the vulva, vagina and mouth  Vaccination
 Discharge from eyes and nose
 Severe diarrhoea resulting in dehydration
and eventual death
 Rise in body temperature
 Dry coat
Pneumonia Bacterium  fever  isolate sick animals
 nasal discharge  keeping house warm
 loss o appetite  treat with anti-biotics,
 coughing e.g., tetracycline
Mastitis Bacterium  swollen udder  treat with anti-biotics
Bloat Giving animal large  distended stomach due to accumulation off  piercing through the
quantities of forage, gases in the rumen stomach with a clean
e.g., cabbage leaves  difficult breathing knife for gas to escape
and grass  profuse salivation  physical exercises
 animals tend to lie down and have help to mix up the
difficulties in rising contents in the
 death may occur within hours if not attended stomach and allows
to quickly the gases to escape
Milk fever Nutritional disorder  the animal staggers and fails to stand  suitable vaccination 2-
due to low calcium  paralysis 3 days before lambing
level in the blood  twitching of the muscles  provide feed rich in
calcium especially
during gestation
period

Parasites of sheep

Type of parasite Parasite Damage caused/signs Control measures

Ticks  carry tick-borne diseases (heartwater  dipping or spraying
disease)  hand-dressing
External  suck blood  rotational grazing
 skin, ear, tail and udder are attacked  burning infected
pasture
Blowfly  lays eggs on lining sheep  dipping or spraying
 maggots barrow into tissues  remove any
 maggots cause irritation, resulting in decomposing remains
continuous wagging of tail of animals and keep
 maggots are found in moist, soft body the surrounding clean
parts, e.g., between the hind limb
 attack any open wound
Tsetsefly  suck blood on the body  dipping
 causes body pains  spraying the bush with
insecticides
 trapping the flies in
heavily infected areas
Page 56 of 65
 Mites  cause sheep scab  dipping
 pierce the skin and suck fluid
Sheep lice  cause skin irritation  dipping
 restless
 loss of weight

Roundworms  cause digestive disorders, diarrhoea,  deworming or

Internal constipation, anaemia drenching with
 pot belly albendazole
 keep the pasture clean
Tapeworms  cause diarrhoea  deworming/drenching
 pot belly  rotational grazing
Wireworms  cause blood loss, resulting in anaemia  deworming/drenching
 results into bottle jaw (an accumulation
of fluid under the sheep’s jaw)
Liver flukes  damage the liver  killing intermediate
 anaemia host snails with copper
 swollen abdomen sulphate
 weight loss  deworming/drenching

The management of goats Breeding goats

Criteria for selecting an appropriate breed of goat Age for breeding goats

 Select the Billy (male goat) and nanny)
from mothers that have reared healthy
kids.
 Select kids that gave birth to the best kids
during the previous years.
Other factors to consider
 Purpose of keeping the goats
a) Goats kept meat production should:
 Grow fast and mature early
 Be from nannies with good
mothering abilities
 Have a good body shape (blocky or
rectangular)
b) Milk goats should have large-well-
developed udders
 Suitability of breed to local and economic
environment
 Billies and nannies must be suited to
climatic and local conditions of the area,
e.g., Malawi goat is hardy and disease
resistant
 Personal preference
 based on opinions, Malawians consider
the local goat meat to be tender and tasty
and its milk easy to digest
Page 57 of 65
 Does or nannies are generally served at the age
of 15 to 18 months
-so that they can give birth at two years of age
 It is recommended that billies be used when
they are two years old
 however, billies can be used when they
are nine months old
 The recommended ratio of billy to nannies is
1:25-30
 however, one billy can serve up to 60
does
 The rest of billies should be castrated
The oestrus cycle for goats
 The length of the oestrus cycle in goats is 18 to
21 days
 The oestrus lasts for one to three days
 This is the period when the doe or
nanny is served
Signs of oestrus (heat) in goats
 The does or nannies frequently wags or
twitches her tail
 The doe shows signs of excitement
 The nanny sometimes mounts other nannies
 The vulva becomes red and thick
 Mucous is discharged from the vulva
  The best time to mate the goats is five
months before the rain starts
 so that the goats kid when there is
plenty of grass
Gestation period in goats
 The gestation period in goats is about 150 days
 Nannies can give birth twice in a year
 three kiddings in two years is common
 Similar to sheep, goats need flushing and
steaming up
 steaming up is done one month before
kidding
 examples of concentrates for steaming
up include crushed maize, maize bran
or madeya and groundnut cake, if
available
Kidding
Kidding is the process of giving birth to young ones in
goats
Signs for kidding
 The udder swells
 The animal is restless and nervous
 The animal bleats
 There is discharge from the vulva
 Once these signs have been observed, the
nanny must be isolated in a quiet place
 Normal birth takes a few hours without
difficulties
 In case of multiple kids or breech birth, a
veterinary officer or experienced goat
farmer should assist the animal
Caring for kids
 The nanny usually licks the mucous from the
kid and clean it once the kid is born
 The kid must suckle the mother for at least
three to four days to get colostrum
 Colostrum is the first yellow milk and it is rich
in:
a. Vitamins
b. Proteins
c. Antibodies
 If goats are reared for meat, kids are left with
nannies until they are weaned, from three to
six months
Page 58 of 65
 If goats are reared for milk production, kids
are removed from nannies after three months
and then fed milk from a bottle or bucket
 Observe hygiene rules when feeding kids from
bottle or bucket, i.e., wash the bottle or bucket
in warm water thoroughly to avoid infection
and diarrhoea
 Milk should be warm or at body temperature
when it is fed to the kids
 The kids are introduced to some pasture and
feed supplements about three weeks after birth
 to help them develop their digestive
systems
 Kids are weaned at between three and six
months of age
Housing goats
 The type of house for goats depends on the
type of management system the farmer uses
Systems of management in goats
 Extensive system
 Semi-intensive system
 Intensive system
Types of housing for goats
Type of goat Description
house
Local khola or  Made of either wooden poles
Round kholas and mud or mud on the wooden
frame or air dried bricks
Rectangular  Made of wooden poles, mud or
kholas air dried bricks
Stilted kholas  Made of timber and nails.
 Sides are covered with mats to
protect animals from draughts
 Expensive to construct
 Maintenance is costly
Brick kholas  Made from baked bricks
 Expensive because they require
a lot of firewood
Reasons for housing goats
 To protect goats from rain
 To protect goats from draught
 To protect goats from heat
 To protect goats from predators like hyenas
and jackals
Characteristics of a good goat house (ii) Grazing: Feeding on grass and feed stuffs that
are neither trees nor shrubs
 It should be properly sited (on a high ground)
 It is cheap to construct
 It is strongly built
 It is roomy
-It has a floor space of about 1.0m2 per animal
 It is well lit
 It is well ventilated, draught-free and dry
 It has a hard floor made up of concrete or
hardened/rammed earth or clay (iii) Tethering: Feeding the animal where it is
 It has a well-thatched roof allowed to graze in a restricted area.
 It is well-drained and easy to clean  The animal is tied to a rope/string
 Similar to sheep, extensive system uses a
simple pole-and-thatch house Ways of tethering:
 Under intensive system, goats may be kept
a. Picket tether: An animal is tied to a peg
in a shed and fed in paddocks
b. Running tether: An animal is tied to a long
 Kids and nannies usually have separate
wire or rod
pens

Feeding goats

 Goats feed on a variety of feed stuffs, e.g.,

pastures, herbs and shrubs, and crop refuse
 Goats are more browsers than grazers
 They like eating tree leaves, barks, shoots
and twigs of trees, shrubs and herbs
 Goats need supplementary feed in the form of
concentrates, e.g.,
(i) Energy concentrates
(ii) Protein concentrates
 Goats should be given plenty fresh, clean
water Disease and parasite control in goats
 They do not eat soiled feed or drink dirty
water  Goats are quiet hardy and resistant to diseases
 However, goats act as carriers of internal and
Methods of feeding goats external parasites for other animals
(i) Browsing: Feeding on leaves of trees and/or  Goats need to be dipped or dusted and
tender twigs of shrubs drenched to control external and internal
parasites
 Rotational grazing helps to reduce worm
infestation in goats
 In general, good nutrition and management
tend to increase resistance to diseases in goats
and other animals

Page 59 of 65
Diseases of goats

Disease Causal Symptoms Treatment/control

organism
Diarrhoea Bacterium  High fever  Treat with drugs, e.g., tetracycline
 Watery foul  Separate kids from old stock
smelling  Clean kholas
yellow faeces
Pneumonia Bacterium or  Fever  Treat with anti-biotics, e.g., tetracycline
virus  Cough and  Avoid overcrowding in khola
rapid  Ensure proper khola ventilation
breathing  Separate kids from adults
 Close open sides of the shelter with sacks to avoid cold
draughts coming in
Pink eye Bacterium  Eyes become  Treat with antibiotic eye-powder or ointment
red and
swollen
Contagious Bacterium  Still birth  Vaccination
abortion or  Abortions  Culling infected animals
brucellosis  Retained  Dispose of the aborted foetus
placenta
Mastitis Bacterium  Udder  Inject anti-biotics, e.g., tetracycline
becomes  Strip out as much as possible
swollen and  Clean teats with disinfectant
hot  Practise cleanliness when milking
 Watery milk  Clean and disinfect milking utensils
with blood
clots
 Fever (if
severe)
Heartwater Rickettsia  Fever  Control ticks by dipping
transmitted  Convulsions  Treat with anti-biotics, e.g., tetracycline
by bont tick  Uncontrolled
animal
movement
 Eventual death
Bloat Overfeeding  Swelling of  Administer 3 to 444 cups of cooking oil for adult and
the animal rumen due to about 2 cups for a kid that has just be weaned
with young, accumulation  Stop feeding the animal
green or wet of gases  Pierce the stomach with a sharp knife to release gases
forage, or  Distress and  Facilitate exercise by walking the animals around
maize meal difficult
breathing

 Share common interests.

TOPIC 11: AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVES  Are willing to pool their resources

together.
 An agricultural cooperative is a group of
farmers who have come together on voluntary Reasons for making farmers’ cooperatives
basis for the purpose of achieving a common
goal for mutual economic benefit.  To facilitate agricultural production
 To facilitate marketing functions
 Thus, members of an agricultural cooperative

Page 60 of 65
Importance of agricultural cooperatives
 Carry out all marketing functions on behalf of
the farmers.
 Provide short-term credit facilities to their
members. These are in terms of inputs or cash
loans payable by the end of the production
period.
 Negotiate for fair prices for both input
purchase and sale of farmers produce.
 Distribute farm inputs to their members.
 Provide extension services and machinery hire
services to their members.
 Advise their members on new and better
methods of production.
 Keep records on all activities of the co-
operative and inform the members accordingly
during annual general meetings.
 Pay dividends to their members.
 Some provide banking services to their
members.
 Some invest money on behalf of their farmers.
 Easy for farmers to secure or obtain loans from
commercial banks
Type of agricultural cooperatives
1. Farm production cooperatives
 These deal mainly with the actual
production of particular crops or livestock
keeping.
 Members usually on the farm as a group.
 The main objective is to exploit the
economics of scale through large-scale
production.
2. Marketing cooperatives
 These undertake the responsibilities of
collection, processing and selling farm
produce, e.g., National Smallholder Farmers
Association of Malawi (NASFAM).
Page 61 of 65
3. Consumer cooperatives
 These deal primarily with farm inputs.
 They buy inputs in bulk and then sell to
members at subsidised prices.
 They may also offer marketing services to
their members.
4. Savings and Credit Cooperatives (SACCO)
 These encourage their members to save their
earnings and later provide them with loan
facilities.
Structure of cooperatives movement
 There is a hierarchy of cooperatives
movement from local to international level.
a) Primary cooperatives
 These are formed by individuals who join
the co-operative on individual capacity.
 They are usually referred to as co-operative
societies.
b) Secondary cooperatives
 These are formed by individual
cooperative societies, e.g., District
Farmers’ Co-operative Unions.
c) National cooperatives
 They are formed by individual cooperative
unions found countrywide.
d) International cooperatives
 They are formed by national cooperatives
of various individual countries.
 They are normally trade blocs dealing with
particular products.
Formation of cooperatives
The legal procedure for forming and registering a
cooperative is as follows:
a. Minimum number of eligible persons is ten.
b. Elect an interim committee.
c. Draft the co-operatives rules and by-laws
(cooperative constitution).
d. Articulate the objectives of the cooperative.
e. Suggest a name for the cooperative.
f. Apply for registration to relevant agriculture
authorities.
NOTE: A cooperative society is basically made up of:
 Members who pay a membership fee.
 Committee: elected members to run the
cooperative.
 Executive staff: employees who implement
decisions of the committee.
Principles for formation of cooperatives
 Open membership: There is free entry and
exit.
 Run on democratic principles: One member
one vote.
 Does not allow voting by proxy.
 There is a share limit that cannot be exceeded.
 Have a non-profit motive.
 Members should remain loyal.
 Members sell their produce through the co-
operative.
 Neutrality in religion and politics.
 Should continuously educate its members.
 Should join from local to national level.
Challenges in running agricultural cooperatives
 Inadequate financial capital
 Lack of infrastructure, equipment, transport
 Poor leadership and management
 Lack of equity and equality among members
 Lack of social responsibility and self-help
spirit
 Lack of motivation and expertise among
managers and staff
Page 62 of 65
 Limited experience and knowledge
Possible solutions to challenges faced by
agricultural cooperatives
 Raising enough funds through membership
fees and getting loans from banks
 Constructing necessary infrastructure and
purchasing equipment and vehicle
 Choosing reliable, honest, trustworthy and
transparent leaders
 Proper supervision of the employed managers
and other staff
 Employing staff with skills and expertise in
accounting, book-keeping and business
management
 Cultivating and encouraging the spirit of self-
help and social responsibility among members
 Training members, board members and
management teams on cooperative
management, principles, values, business
management and planning
 Ensuring that there is equal employment and
participation among male and female members
Factors that make agricultural cooperatives
successful
 The staff and committee members running and
controlling the organisation have the necessary
expertise and are trustworthy and motivated
 The cooperative has enough capital/funds
 The cooperative is efficiently and effectively
organised
 The organisation should have adequate
infrastructure (staff houses, offices, storage
facilities), personal transport, equipment and
supplies
 Members of the cooperative receive on-going
and relevant training to improve their
productivity and marketing skills
 TOPIC 12: ECONOMIC PRINCIPLES FOR
DECISION MAKING IN AGRICULTURE
 Farmers need to make decisions in order to
resolve agricultural problems.
 In order to come up with suitable decisions,
farmers apply specific economic theories.
Economic theories for decision making in
agriculture
A. Opportunity cost
 Opportunity cost is the next best alternative
that has been forgone or the value of the best
alternative action that is given up (what you
would have done or got if you had not made
the choice that you did.
 This is the return that is given up.
 It is not always a number or a monetary figure.
Example
A farmer is growing two hectares of tobacco and one
hectare of maize. Due to falling price in a particular
year, the farmer wants to increase maize production by
one hectare and reduce the hectares of tobacco by the
same amount.
QUESTION: What is the opportunity cost in this
case?
ANSWER: It is the income from the yield that would
have been obtained from the one hectare of tobacco
that has been given up.
Determination of opportunity cost
Think of the answers to the following questions:
1. What alternative opportunities are there?
 The farmer has to make a list of different
possible opportunities available to him.
2. What is the best of these alternative opportunities?
 The farmer has to draw a priority list or
scale of preference
3. What benefit would I get if I select the next-best
opportunity instead of the choice I am setting on?
 The answer to the third question is the
opportunity cost of the choice
Importance of the theory of opportunity cost in
decision making
a) Evaluating options
 The principle of opportunity cost
encourages the farmer to seriously
consider or examine alternative activities
in order to judge their value, quality or
importance
b) Choosing wisely
 The farmer prepares a priority list which
guides him/her to make a rational choice
on the best activity
c) Efficient use of scarce resources
 Whatever resources the farmer has should
be used well
d) Maximising satisfaction
 Economic decision making requires the
selection of the alternative that can give
the maximum benefit

Alternative definitions of opportunity cost Principle of comparative advantage

The alternative surrendered This principle states that farmers, districts,

value of the choice missed regions or countries should concentrates on
The next option skipped products in which they have greater relative
benefit chance that forgone advantage compared to others
The possibility was given up It brings about specialisation
worth of the selection left out
Relative advantage is based on favourable:
The second activity sacrificed
yield a. soils
enterprise passed by
b. climate
c. expertise
d. nearness to a market
For example, One Village One Product
programme

Page 63 of 65
Principle of substitution of inputs
Substitution means replacement.
Substitution of inputs means replacement of a
resource, e.g., inorganic fertilizers with
organic manure in maize production.
Substitution of inputs depends on increasing
prices of the inputs the farmer might use.
 The economic principle of substitution of
inputs states that it is beneficial for a farmer
to substitute an input, resource, technology
for another if it :
e) Reduces costs (is cheaper), but produces the
same level of yield or
f) Has the same cost, but increases yield
 Examples include,
 Weeding by hoeing out the weeds or
spraying herbicides
 Feeding layers on a commercial ration or
a home mix
Importance of the principle o substitution of inputs
 It guides the farmer in choosing the cheaper or
more profitable input, resource or technology of
production
 It helps the farmer to answer the farm
management question on how to produce.
Principle of diminishing marginal returns
Diminishing means decreasing
The term marginal return refers to the
additional output resulting from the use of an
additional unit of input(assuming all factors
are held constant)

Substitution table of definition of diminishing marginal return

As equal increments when other production rises, but incremental produce decreases
of one input are used resources are held a point is reached product lessens
constant beyond which the
when other factors resulting additional returns shrinks
As equal quantities remain fixed output declines
of an input are added when other inputs extra yield dwindles
are unchanged harvest shrivels

Stages of the law of diminishing marginal returns

Amount of seed (kg/ha) Marginal yield (kg/ha) Stage of marginal returns

0 0 Increasing marginal returns
1 11
2 20
3 22 Diminishing marginal
4 19 returns
5 13
6 7 Negative marginal returns
7 -1
8 -8

Page 64 of 65
 1. Stage of increasing marginal returns  It helps the farmer to deal with increasing
 The addition in input causes the marginal marginal costs that would otherwise arise from
output to rise increasing levels of inputs
 There is availability of other productive  It helps the farmer to avoid waste of farming
resources hejd constant but relatively resources
adundant for the amount of seed used  It helps the farmer to understand that there is a
1. Stage of diminishing marginal returns point or stage where benefits of doing something
 The additional input causes the marginal will slowly decrease
output to lessen (but still positive)  It helps the farmer to understand that spending
 The plant population is becoming greater and investing more and more in a product where
and greater other factors remain the same mean that the
 The competition between plants for fixed returns will eventually begin to diminish in the
resources becomes higher and higher long run
2. Stage of negative returns
 The additional input (seed) becomes too
excessive (too much) compared to the fixed
resources
 This causes the marginal output to negative
(less than zero)the plant population becomes
too much for the available fixed resources
 Leading to severe competition for soil
nutrients, water, space, oxygen and light
 Plants develop deficiency diseases, shade one
another or even suffocate
 Due to poor air circulation or insufficient
oxygen
 The optimum for the farmer to stop increasing the
input is where the marginal return reaches zero
 Each quantity of additional input brings
an extra return up to this point

Importance of the principle of diminishing

marginal returns in decision making

 It helps the farmer to understand the relationship

between level of input and level of production
 It helps the farmer to identify the point (stage)
when diminishing returns set-in

Page 65 of 65