Silamba Farmz

We are building muscles for the livestock in preparation of the dry season.

Free advise - to whom it may concern,
If you want to buy land choose the one which;
🤝 Fits and suits the purpose for today and
tomorrow.
🤝 Passable, good route network (road).
🤝 Where there is no Electricity.
🤝 Get traditional land but first acquaint
yourself with rules and norms of the
community.
🤝 Negotiate to pay in instalment even if you
have enough cash and if
possible start working it.
🤝 When full payments are done start the
process of converting it into statutory
land.
The Human population is increasing and God is not creating land anymore, you will remember this after 5 year.

Land appreciates everyday and what you do with this information is up to you.

Followyourpassion.

It's a step at a time
30.10.23
Thinklivestock
Agricourculture.

There is a risk in trying but there more risks when You don't try at all, where your wealth is thus where the heart will be.

Dry Season comes with it's challenges but soon we shall enjoy the green pastures.

The power of dirty jobs (not underhand methods)

I commit myself to turn the dry land into green edible grass/ pasture/ Vegies

The struggle is real and its weath it.

Common mistakes people make when venturing into farming

1.Building a mansion at the farm.

- you do not need a fancy house when starting your farming enterprise unless you intend to set up an unproductive rural home. Let business lead not comfort and pride to show off on Facebook.

2. Starting big without experience.

only the grave starts on top, every other thing starts small. Starting small is not a weakness but a strategy. There are too many advantages of starting small.

3. Producing without the market.

- it's safer to 'produce for the market, than to market the produce'. That's one of the advantages of starting small. Let the real customer guide you. The market is your greatest teacher.

4. Working on assumptions.

- untested assumptions are very costly. Never put a big budget on assumptions. Thank me later!

5. Hiring unqualified and nearest people.

- only a fool will entrust an $20k investment in the hands of an uneducated relative or some cheap guy or illiterate couple desperately looking for a place to stay. If farming is a business, then get trained people. Never hire anyone you can't fire! Unless it's urgent avoid relatives! Hire the best you can and don't trust them!

6. Setting too short time frames.

- farming is not a get-rich-quick-scheme. This is the reason many backyard broiler farmers never make any money. Although broilers are ready in 6 weeks, your money is usually ready after 2 years of consistency. Get in with a plan to evaluate at least 3 times in 5 years! Anything less will not give you an informed perspective.

7. Investing in infrastructure without production.

your business is farming not buildings. Invest in stock not structures. If possible have temporary structures for your goats or chickens. Too many people build structures for $10k and buy stock (like chickens) for $200. Very unwise! Start with the cheapest or free structures but with the best breeds/variety of what you want to grow!

8. Working without a plan.

- where do you intend to take the farming business to in 5, 10 or 50 years. I have a 100 year plan that my children know where they come in. They know that the harvest of my efforts might come during their time and we are ok with it. How big do intend to grow? Which markets are you pursuing, when? How will you know when you get there? ETC.

9. Lack of focus.

- copying what everyone is doing. Changing from time to time! Focus on a few, grow and dominate the sector. Competition is not healthy, seek to control a sector. Have laser focus on a few things. If possible specialize! Be a reference point for one particular thing.

10. Remote farming 🧺

- others call it cellphone farming. Once you decide to farm, be willing to divorce city life. Go to town only to buy buildings and to collect rental money! The master's eye fattens the sheep! Don't come to the farm and talk to your workers from a car and go back. Never come drunk! Have a set of gumboots, overalls and get to see things for yourself. Keep a separate set of records handy! Arrive sometimes unannounced! . Control major points like vaccinations etc.

Ways To Deal With Unproductive Farm Workers

1. CONFRONT THEM
If you don’t confront unproductive farm workers around you in good time, you will allow them to poison the mind of the hardworking ones and this will cripple your farming business.

2. ENCOURAGE THEM
Some farm workers may need encouragement from time to time in order to keep putting in their best. When you see the ones in this state around you, do all you can to encourage them. It is possible that you might still get them to be productive ultimately.

3. INVESTIGATE THEM
Find out why they are feeling and acting lazy/ unproductive. You never know. They may be passing through a tough time in their private lives. Investigate them thoroughly to find out the real problem and seek for ways to bring them back into better productive frame of mind.

4. WARN THEM
Well, this is business! If the lazy workers still persist in their lethargic state, you may need to warn them rigorously to buckle up! Let them know that there is no way you are going to tolerate a continuous lazy disposition in your farm business.

5. OFFLOAD THEM
If the workers refuse to change, you will have to brace yourself and fire them. Yes, fire them before they fire you out of farming business. The good thing is that it is far better to help someone at a distance than to accommodate them around you to your own detriment!



This might interest you!

Agribusiness Magazine June 2022 Agribusiness Magazine June 2022

Onion farmers take note

Onion Growing Tips

If a cold snap occurs with temperatures of around 13°C while bulbing this can trigger bolting. The bulbs need a month of dry weather towards the end of its growing period for maturity. Onions are sensitive to length of daylight. Certain cultivars like “Texas Grano” an open pollinated variety have short daylight requirements that is why they are termed short day cultivars.

More
https://www.agribusiness.co.zw/articles/crops/a-guide-to-onion-production

Livestock

Its rain season let's get busy

Rain season is around the corner, as farmers what do you intend to plant, time to plant is now and prepare. Green bean is one of the simple crop to manage and has higher returns. Here are few tips;
1. Add mature before planting and water for some fews days.
2. You may use fertilizer like Top 24 if you so wish.
3. supplement it with foliar fertilizer
Within 60 days you may start harvesting

Tips on gardening - MULCHING

THREE IMPORTANCE;

In simple terms Mulching is the process of covering the soil:-

1. It helps to retain moisture
2. Reduce soil erosion
3. Reduce weeds in your field

Consistency is the rule of the game

Cabbage is a cool weather crop.

Recently joined the colleagues, we keep pushing

No sweat no sweet

White egg plants & cabbages leading....

CABBAGE LOADING...

know the stages of your maize plant.

Lesson 1: Introduction to Enterprenuership

Good morning all,
Today marks the beginning of our much anticipated entrepreneurship course.
Our first topic is basically an introduction to entrepreneurship. We will try to make each other understand what this animal called entrepreneurship really is.

Entrepreneurship, mwe bena Zambia comes from a French word `Entrependre’ and the German word `Uternehmen’ both meaning individuals who are `undertakers’ i.e. those who took the risk of a new enterprise. Entrepreneurship is a dynamic activity which helps the entrepreneur to bring changes in the process of production, innovation in production, new usage of materials, creator of market etc. It is a metal attitude to foresee risk and uncertainty and do something new in an effective manner to achieve certain goals.

From that explanation alone, you will probably agree with us that buying tomatoes from Soweto market and re-selling them pa roadside si entrepreneurship iyayi. Maybe ni ‘malonda’…but definitely not entrepreneurship. Even buying vovala or Plasmas/laptops from South Africa and reselling them here is not entrepreneurship.
An entrepreneur is an economic change agent with knowledge, skills, initiative, drive and spirit of innovation to achieve goals. He identifies and seizes opportunity for economic benefits. He is a risk bearer, an organizer and an innovator.

According to Economists ? An entrepreneur is the one who brings resources, labour, material and other assets into combination to produce a socially viable product, and also one who introduces changes, innovation and new order.

According to Management ? A person with a vision and action plan to achieve it is an entrepreneur.
Since we have defined who an entrepreneur is, let’s now look at his characteristics (to the ladies, please forgive us for using the word ‘his’…don’t take it that only men can be entrepreneurs…ni bonse chabe) ;
Vision – if you consider yourself to be an entrepreneur, you should be able to v

Agriculture should be our culture

FARMING & FOOD SECURITY

*FARMER-VET DISCUSSIONS*

I hope sharing this will help some of us here to help and reduce on mortality in the brooders encountered a problem on one of the farms, where the 7 days old chicks were getting blocked on their behinds.
Droppings were getting stuck and the bird could no longer pass out its excreta

But what could have caused this:

The problem is called *PASTED VENT*

vent pasting is as a result of so many factors as discussed below.

1. Water availability in the brooder....birds that are unable to have easy access to water when they have eaten will get a pasted vent. It simply means the feed will not be easily digested, so in the same way the bird will find a challenge in passing out the firm/dry droppings.

Farmers should provide enough drinkers in the house, and the height of the waterers should be easily accessed by the chicks.

2. Drinker placement;

As a fact, chicks do no drink tea. So when you put water near to heat, they will neglect the water! Which leads to constipation and pasted vent. So water should always be put a distance away from the heaters!

3. Feed texture.

If you are giving chicks self mixed feed, it should be of very fine texture (almost like flour) for easy digestion....if they are given big particles of feed, the chicks fond a challenge in digesting and passing out.

Pelleted feed and crumbles are highly digestible and will not cause you any challenges.

4. Temperature regulation.

Farmers should always follow the temperature regulation guide when brooding....putting too much heat in the brooder causes dehydration, vent pasting, panting and increased mortalities.

A thermometer in the brooder is a must, if you do not know how to use behavioral changes of the chicks to regulate temperature.

5. Escherichia coli infections.
One of the most disturbing diseases in the first week of a chick's life is e.coli
It can cause increased mortalities in the first few days, birds unable to stand or walk( usually starts on day 2) ....bir

how you can differeciate a females chicks from males ones.