r Agriculture expert, Dr. Oliver Kandela Bulaya […]

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Agriculture expert, Dr. Oliver Kandela Bulaya has urged farmers not to expect higher crop yields when they continue applying minimal amounts of fertilizer to their fields.

 Speaking in an interview with Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Dr. Bulaya said the low application of fertilizer among farmers is one of the factors contributing to low productivity, as farmers cannot expect significant increases in yields without adequately providing crops with the nutrients they require.

“Farmers are applying fertilizer minimally, and you don’t expect to get more from the minimal application of fertilizers, because if the amount being applied is not enough to meet the requirements of the crop, productivity will naturally remain low,” he said.

 Dr. Bulaya added that many farmers have resorted to applying small amounts of D-compound and urea across their fields, partly because fertilizer is expensive and farmers want to stretch the limited inputs across larger areas.

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

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

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

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

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

Article by Philip Sinkala