LANGMEAD & BAKER LTD
RESEARCH
Research on conservation farming in Zambia
Hoe conservation farming of maize in Zambia
By Peter Langmead
Formerly the part-time research coordinator of Conservation Farming Unit of the Zambia National Farmers' Union.
Abstract – Hoe Conservation Farming practice in Zambia focuses on the retention of residues, restricting tillage of the land to the area where the seed is to be sown, completion of land preparation in the dry season, establishment of precise and permanent planting basins, precision use of inputs, early and continuous weeding, and rotations . The method is compared with conventional farm practice with the same inputs. The result from on-farm trials in agro-ecological regions IIa and III in Zambia among smallholder farmers with the same inputs shows an average increase in maize yield of 77 per cent after controlling for planting dates, rotations, residues and weeding effort, socio-economic factors and location, management and environment, at a lower risk. Lime and inoculum increased yields by 32 per cent. Planting dates, rotations, residues and weeding effort contributed 29 per cent, 11 per cent, 9 per cent and 17 per cent respectively to the yield increase attributed to conservation farming method. Socio-economic factors explained 17 per cent of yield, age and number of hoes contributing around nine per cent each and education 13 per cent. Household size and bicycles had 11 per cent and four per cent negative impacts respectively.
Key Words : Conservation farming, Hoe cultivation, Oxen cultivation, smallholder, small-scale farming, maize, sunnhemp, planting date, lime, inoculum, yield risk, age, gender, education, socio-economic factors, sustainable agriculture, sustainable food production, Zambia, conservation farming unit.
Hoe conservation farming of cotton, groundnuts and soybean in Zambia
By Peter Langmead
Formerly the part-time research coordinator of Conservation Farming Unit of the Zambia National Farmers' Union.
Abstract - The performance of cotton, groundnuts and soybean under hoe conservation farming culture in Zambia is examined with a GLS model weighted for groupwise error variance and controlled for location and planting dates, and the socio-economic factors of age, gender, education, household size and other wealth indicators. Basal dressing increases cotton yields by 26 per cent and lime and basal dressing increases yield by 46 per cent, both with net benefits. Adding lime to groundnuts already with basal dressing increases yield by 21 per cent in conservation farming basins and by 18 per cent on permanent ridges. Converting to permanent ridges, with lime, from conservation farming basins, without lime, increases yield by 35 per cent. Adding lime to cotton or to soybean already with basal dressing did not have significant responses.
Key Words: Conservation farming, Hoe cultivation, Oxen cultivation, smallholder, small-scale farming, planting date, lime, inoculum, yield risk, age, gender, education, socio-economic factors, sustainable food production, Zambia, conservation farming unit, cash crops, sustainable agriculture.
The impact of lime and root inoculum on maize in conservation farming basins
By Peter Langmead
Formerly the part-time research coordinator of Conservation Farming Unit of the Zambia National Farmers' Union.
The purpose of the trial is to find the impact of lime and root inoculum individually and jointly on maize yields in conservation farming basins in the region IIa agro-ecological zone.
The impact of lime and farming systems on sole-cropped and intercropped maize
By Peter Langmead
Formerly the part-time research coordinator of Conservation Farming Unit of the Zambia National Farmers' Union.
There are four key questions:
1)Is maize responsive to lime in region III?
2)Are conservation farming basins and conservation farming permanent ridges effective farming systems in region III?
3) Is maize intercropped and rotated in situ with sunnhemp as viable as sole-cropped maize rotated with groundnuts?
4) and is there any evidence of the rotation with groundnuts increasing sole-cropped maize yields?
The performance of groundnuts with lime and conservation farming systems
By Peter Langmead
Formerly the part-time research coordinator of Conservation Farming Unit of the Zambia National Farmers' Union.
The first purpose of the study is to investigate the yield performance of groundnuts with and without lime by conservation farming method and conventional farming practice, in region III agro-ecological zone. The second is to establish the yield performance of groundnuts under conservation farming basins, conventional farming practice and conservation farming permanent ridges in region III agro-ecological zone. The trials are in region III agro-ecological zone, in Northern and Copperbelt regions.
The impact of conservation farming basins on maize yields and soil pH over time in a three-year rotation
By Peter Langmead
Formerly the part-time research coordinator of Conservation Farming Unit of the Zambia National Farmers' Union.
The objective is to establish whether the observed increases in maize yields over time are real, in plots demonstrating conservation farming basins and a three-year rotation including maize, cotton and a legume, and if so, whether they can be explained by farmer experience or to increasing pH individually or jointly.
The response of maize to lime and the viability of maize intercropped with sunnhemp
By Peter Langmead
Formerly the part-time research coordinator of Conservation Farming Unit of the Zambia National Farmers' Union.
The purpose is to find
1) the response of maize to lime under conservation farming basins in region IIa agro-ecological zone.
2) if maize intercropped with red sunnhemp and rotated in situ is viable as a sole-cropped maize in conservation farming basins in region IIa.
The impact of lime and fertiliser on cotton in conservation farming basins
By Peter Langmead
Formerly the part-time research coordinator of Conservation Farming Unit of the Zambia National Farmers' Union.
The purpose of the trial is to find the impact of lime and fertiliser on cotton in conservation farming basins in the region IIa agro-ecological zone.
The impact of lime on maize and soyabean in conservation farming basins
By Peter Langmead
Formerly the part-time research coordinator of Conservation Farming Unit of the Zambia National Farmers' Union.
The purpose of the trial is to find the impact of lime on maize and soyabean yields in conservation farming basins in the region IIa agro-ecological zone. The maize and soyabean are under a two-year rotation, but this is the first year of the trial, so no time effect can be measured.
Comparison of conservation farming demonstration plots with conventionally farmed auxiliary plots
By Peter Langmead
Formerly the part-time research coordinator of Conservation Farming Unit of the Zambia National Farmers' Union.
The demonstration plots are three-year rotations based on maize, cotton and a legume; auxiliary plots are paired with the demonstration plots and receive the same inputs, but are not advised about conservation farming practice. The questions are 1) what is the yield difference between the three-year rotation in conservation farming basins and the conventional farming practice in region IIa agro-ecological zone; 2) what is the economic contribution of conservation farming basins per hectare; 3) what are the contributions of early planting and basins to conservation farming; 4) and what do oxen contribute to yields?
Research on other Agriculture projects
Rainfall near Monze in Zambia, 1921-2000
By Peter Langmead
There is speculation that annual rainfall in Southern Province is declining, and the cited evidence is that farm yields are diminishing. It is reported that, as a result of declining yields, some farming families are moving further north, which has a detrimental impact on the local rural economy. There are other reasons that may explain crop failure other than alleged declining rainfall, particularly degraded soils. This study examines whether there is any evidence that supports the assertion that rainfall in Southern Province is falling.
Cassava - A Market Research Study
Zambia, July 2003
By Langmead & Baker Ltd for SHEMP
This study was commissioned by SHEMP to enable smallholder farmers to access market information about products that can be made from cassava. These are the unprocessed products of fresh roots, leaves and cuttings, the value-added processed products of dried roots and chips, cassava meal and gari, and beverages and charcoal briquettes. Also discussed are cassava meal, as a substitute to maize meal, blended cassava/maize meals and cassava/wheat blends for bakery products, and animal feeds including silage, an on-farm product, chips and pellets, and compound feeds. The industrial products considered were high quality cassava flour (HQCF) and starch.
Appraisal of Diversification Opportunities- the Zambian Paprika Case Study
Zambia, January 2003
By Peter Langmead for FAO
The objective of this study is to review paprika production in Zambia and identify the features that have contributed to raising smallholder farm incomes, particularly the economics, market infrastructure, advisory services and information on paprika production, and policy support.
The Land Management & Conservation Farming Program (LM&CF) - A Cost-Benefit Analysis
Zambia, 5 February 2003
By Peter Langmead
The LM&CF programme from
1999-2002 evolved out of the Soil
Conservation and Agroforestry
Extension (SCAFE) programme established in July
1994 and supported by the Swedish
International Development Agency (SIDA) as a
continuation of a project launched originally in
1985.
The aim of the programme is to improve the quality
of agricultural land use for the production of
food
and fibre in a sustainable manner, and to
strengthen farmer groups and develop an
appropriate
extension system that is sustainable. The
programme comes to an end at the end of 2002, and
is now to
be incorporated into a new broader programme,
Swedish Agricultural Successor Programme
(SASP)
from 2003-2006. It is expected that the general
concepts and strategies developed by LM&CF
will
continue to be implemented through the new
programme.
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Finance
an explanation FOR abnormal returns from initial public offers and the revelation of information on the first day of trading of new company stocks
by Peter Langmead
Two aspects of initial public offers are examined. First, it is argued that an abnormal return is a function of an ex ante estimate of the company value at its opening trade, the proportion of equity disposed and the amount of proceeds raised by the company’s entrepreneurs, and a proxy for the geometric market return between the offer closing date and the opening trade. A structure is imposed upon the analysis of abnormal returns by separating the variables into those which affect abnormal returns directly and those which influence abnormal returns indirectly. The study examines this proposal with three estimates of abnormal returns from initial public offers on the Stock Exchange of Thailand.
Second, the same three estimates of abnormal returns are used to examine the relation between the volatility of abnormal returns from initial public offers, between the offer closing date and the opening trade on the first day of trading, and market turnover on the Stock Exchange of Thailand. Arising from the observed phenomenon of rising market turnover on the first day of trading of new companies, an explanation is that market-wide information is revealed when the abnormal return from the initial public offer becomes known.