By KENNEDY MUPESENI
A POULTLY farmer in Lusaka has started commercial production of organic fertiliser from chicken droppings which will encourage farming in the country.
The Government has called for popularisation of organic farming to reduce expenses on fertiliser imports.
Aaron Chungu, who runs Chicol Estates in Twin Palm area, has set up an organic commercial processing plant with production capacity of 10 to 20 tonnes per day.
This came to light when Agriculture Minister Given Lubinda, his deputy Maxus Ng’onga and officials from the Poultry Association of Zambia (PAZ) and Zambia Agriculture Research Institute (ZARI) toured the farm on Tuesday.
Stacks of processed fertiliser for onward supply to buyers were seen in the depot at the farm packed in 10 and 50 kilogramme bags.
In an interview during the tour, Mr Chungu said the introduction of the fertiliser on the Zambian market would contribute to the low cost of production.
“Worldwide, organic foods fetch higher than those grown using chemical fertilisers due to the high level of nutritional contents they have.
“We were struggling to keep massive chicken droppings before we started processing them into this fertiliser and it is good that the market for our fertiliser has been expanding because a lot of farmers are slowly appreciating organic fertiliser,” Mr Chungu said.
The farm sits on 28 hectares, which house a poultry value chain ranging from chicken, eggs to manufacturing organic fertiliser production.
Mr Lubinda, who was impressed by the unique agriculture value chain, said if the model was replicated throughout the country, fertiliser imports could greatly be reduced.
“I am impressed by what I have seen, there is need to popularise the concept and we can significantly reduce fertiliser imports in addition to having a healthy nation,” Mr Lubinda said.
He urged stakeholders in the agriculture sector to collaborate with ZARI to raise agricultural benefits to farmers.