Project to increase mahangu crops

Project to increase mahangu crops

MAHANGU farmers in four northern regions are to benefit from a new agricultural project that will increase their yields.

The Conservation Tillage Project (CTP) is being implemented by the Namibian Agronomic Board (NAB) in the Oshikoto, Ohangwena, Oshana and Kavango regions. The Board says participating farmers will be trained in methods to stop soil degradation and at the same time improve soil fertility, moisture retention and yield.The overall goal of the project is to reduce poverty in rural areas.”If it is demonstrated, as expected, that increased yields of mahangu (pearl millet) can be sustainably produced through the use of specific methods of conservation agriculture, the way will be paved for adoption of the methods by many northern farmers,” said the Namibian Agronomic Board.A series of on-farm trials will be conducted with farmers on their own land to demonstrate the basic technology and hopefully sustainable yield benefits.These methods have already been tested in a trial project in the Omusati Region, where promising yield increases have been recorded for the last two years.The positive results already attained, together with the positive results expected in the four new regions, will encourage farmers to adopt the practice for themselves, the Board says.”In Omusati, the number of farmers participating will increase in this third year to 40.One hundred new farmers will test the techniques in these four regions,” said NAB.Because of years of shallow ploughing and disk harrowing, many mahangu fields have developed a hard layer just below the surface soil, called a “hard pan”.This prevents rainwater from penetrating deep into the soil.The new methods include ripping deep furrows into the hard soil, and planting seeds in the same furrows every season.Breaking up the hard layer of soil allows water to penetrate deeply and this encourages the mahangu to grow deeper roots.This helps the plants to survive dry spells because deep soil stays damp for longer.The project is funded by the European Commission to the tune of N$1,8 million through the Rural Poverty Reduction Programme (RPRP) of the National Planning Commission.The Namibia Agronomic Board will organise a Conservation Agriculture Forum that will present this new approach and its research results together with presentations from other relevant projects.The forum is planned for December 4 2007 at the Windhoek office of the Board.The Board says participating farmers will be trained in methods to stop soil degradation and at the same time improve soil fertility, moisture retention and yield.The overall goal of the project is to reduce poverty in rural areas.”If it is demonstrated, as expected, that increased yields of mahangu (pearl millet) can be sustainably produced through the use of specific methods of conservation agriculture, the way will be paved for adoption of the methods by many northern farmers,” said the Namibian Agronomic Board.A series of on-farm trials will be conducted with farmers on their own land to demonstrate the basic technology and hopefully sustainable yield benefits.These methods have already been tested in a trial project in the Omusati Region, where promising yield increases have been recorded for the last two years. The positive results already attained, together with the positive results expected in the four new regions, will encourage farmers to adopt the practice for themselves, the Board says.”In Omusati, the number of farmers participating will increase in this third year to 40.One hundred new farmers will test the techniques in these four regions,” said NAB.Because of years of shallow ploughing and disk harrowing, many mahangu fields have developed a hard layer just below the surface soil, called a “hard pan”.This prevents rainwater from penetrating deep into the soil.The new methods include ripping deep furrows into the hard soil, and planting seeds in the same furrows every season.Breaking up the hard layer of soil allows water to penetrate deeply and this encourages the mahangu to grow deeper roots.This helps the plants to survive dry spells because deep soil stays damp for longer.The project is funded by the European Commission to the tune of N$1,8 million through the Rural Poverty Reduction Programme (RPRP) of the National Planning Commission.The Namibia Agronomic Board will organise a Conservation Agriculture Forum that will present this new approach and its research results together with presentations from other relevant projects.The forum is planned for December 4 2007 at the Windhoek office of the Board.

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