AGRICULTURE FORM THREE

NEW SYLLABUS BASED NOTES

VOLUME 3

PHILLIP MLOWOKA GUDULU CHIRWA

(TARGET PRIVATE SECONDARY SCHOOL-MZUZU CITY)

1 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

Passing agriculture at MSCE has never been easy and straight
forward. This pamphlet has brought all the resources which are
requisite so as to lessen lavishness of precious time probing for
valuable information in different books.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

My profound thanks should go my wife Chimwemwe Chakwira who

indefatigably (tirelessly) encouraged working as if there is no
tomorrow so that this pamphlet should be finalized despite the
myriads of predicaments l encountered. I would be doing injustice if I
do not recognize the omnipresent GOD for the free gift of life.

Special dedication to my daughter, MADALITSO CHIRWA

© PHILLIP CHIRWA 2021

All rights reserved. No part of this pamphlet may be reproduced,
stored in retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without
the prior written permission.

Editor : Phillip Chirwa

Proofreader: Johnson chirwa
Designed by: Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa
Date : 17th March, 2021

2 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

TABLE OF CONTENTS
UNIT 1: PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF THE SOIL ............................................................................. 4

UNIT 2: CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF THE SOIL .......................................................................... 16

UNIT 6 FARM BUSINESS DECISION MAKING ............................................................................. 38

UNIT 8 AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVES ................................................................................... 43

UNIT 9 VEGETATIVE PLANTING MATERIALS ........................................................................ 44

UNIT 10 CROPPING SYSTEM .......................................................................................................... 49

UNIT 11 MUSHROOM PRODUCTIONS........................................................................................... 54

UNIT 12 LIVESTOCK FEEDS AND FEEDING ................................................................................ 65

UNIT 13 SHEEP AND GOAT PRODUCTION .................................................................................. 71

3 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

UNIT 1: PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF THE SOIL
➢ Soil has variety of physical properties which provides vital medium for plants growth.
➢ Physical properties of soil are;
• Texture
• Structure
• Colour
• Consistency
• Porosity
• Temperature
• Depth
1. Soil Texture
• Refers to the proportion of sand, silt and clay in the soil
• Or the coarseness or finest of the soil particles
Textural classes of the soil
i. Sandy soil: has more than 70% sand particles
ii. Clay soil: has over 40% clay particles
iii. Loam soil: has almost equal proportion of sand and clay
Comparing water holding capacity of the three textural classes of soil

• set up three measuring cylinders with funnels

• weight about 20g each of sandy, clay and loam soil
• put the samples in the funnels of the measuring cylinders and label them A, B,C
• pour 50ml of water into each of the funnels
• observe the water as it drains and stops coming through
• record the time when the first drop of water comes through the funnels
• After ten to fifteen minutes measure and record the amount of water that has drained
through each of the soil samples.
• calculate amount of water held by each soil sample by subtracting the amount the amount
of water drained from the 50ml of water that poured into each funnel
Particle sizes of clay soil

Particle Sizes(mm) diameter

Clay Below 0.002
Silt Between 0.02 and 0.002mm
Fine sand Below 0.2 and 0.02mm
Coarse sand Between 2.0 and 0.2
Gravel Above 2.0mm
Summary of characteristics of three textural classes of soil

characteristics Sandy clay Loam

Particle sizes Large small Medium
Drainage Very high Very low Moderate
Water holding capacity Very low Very high Moderate
Aeration Very high Very low Moderate
Nutrient holding capacity Very low Very high Very high
Cultivation Very easy difficult Easy
Root penetration Very easy difficult Easy

4 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

How is the soil analysed
• Scientist collects soil samples of about 15-20g, which they grind finery.
• they separate gravel and sand particles from silt and clay through sieving-they stack four
sieves of different mesh sizes to separate the soil particles
• they weight the amounts of gravel and sand separately and express the mass as a
percentage
• Silt and clay are separated through sedimentation in water and weighed.
• they express them mass of sand , silt and clay as weight percentage using the amount of
dry soil as basis
• once they these percentages they use soil triangle to classify soil texture

Soil texture triangle

➢ Is used to classify the textural class of the soil.
How to use soil triangle
It has three axes, namely clay, silt and sand
➢ The total percentages should add up 100%
Example locate soil sample R which has 45% sand, 40% silt and 15% clay
• Locate 45% of sand on sand axis and draw line parallel to its axis
• Locate 40% on silt axis and draw a line parallel to clay axis
• Finally locate 15% clay axis and draw a line along its axis
• The three lines have intersected at one point in the triangle. The points where three
line meet give the name of texture. In our example here its loam soil
• Note that the total percentage in soil sample should add up to 100%

5 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

WAYS OF DETERMINING SOIL TEXTURE
a. sieve or sifting method
Material required

• soil sample
• Sieves of different sized mesh i.e. 2mm, 0.2mm, 0.02mm, and 0.002mm in diameter.
Procedure

• Weigh the collected sample and record its mass

• break the soil sample into small particles
• take a sieve of 2mm mesh
• Sieves the soil through the 2mm mesh. Soil particles greater than 2 mm in diameter
will not pass through.
• Repeat the exercise with sieves of 0.2mm, 0.02mm, and 0.002mm.
• Weigh the samples in different sieves
• Calculate the percentage of each collected sample using the total weight.
b. Feel method
• Collect different lamps of soil
• Add a little water to the soil
• Take the soil between the thumb and the fore finger
• Feel the soil as you move the two fingers
• Try to mould the soil
• Sandy soils feels gritty and coarse while clay soils particles feel fine and sticky when
wet. Clay can also be moulded into balls or sausages
c. Sedimentation method
Materials

• Garden soil
• Water
• Sodium carbonate
• Measuring cylinder
Procedure

• Collect a dry lamp of soil

• Put soil sample into a transparent container or cylinder
• Add 5g of sodium carbonate powder to break soil particles further.
• Add water until the cylinder is 75% full
• Cover the mouth of the cylinder and shake vigorously
• Leave the cylinder to allow the contents to settle down
• Determine the percentage of each particle found in the soil using the volume of each
observed layer.
Expected results

• Soil settles according to their mass. The heaviest will settle first followed by the
second heaviest and so on.

6 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

Effects of soil texture on crop production
a. it influences soil aeration: sandy soil allow air to circulate easily for root respirations
and plant growth
b. It influences water holding capacity. Clay soil holds more water than sandy soil for
plants growth.
c. It influences nutrients holding capacity. nutrients a leach more easily in a coarse-
textured soil than in fine-textured soil, but are more held more firmly for crop
production in fine textured soil
d. It influences sol drainage: coarse textured soil is better drained for crop production
than fine textured soils.
e. It influences tillage: coarse textured soils are easier to till than which is fine-textured.
f. It influences resistance to erosion; sandy soil is easily eroded.
g. It influences the type of crop to grow.
h. Root development and extension: A soil which is too hard and compacted prevents
roots from extending to search for water and mineral salts from wide volume of soil.
2. SOIL STRUCTURE
➢ Refers to the arrangement of soil particles to form aggregates/collections
➢ These particles are: clay. Sand and silt.
➢ For aggregation to be possible cementing agents are needed and theses are
• Clay
• Organic matter (humus)
Types of soil structure

• Naming of soil structure is determined by two factors

i. Shape of soil particles
ii. Arrangement of soil particles
• There are eight type and these are
1. Platy structure
• Particles are horizontally arranged on a plane. They are flat and plate-like. Soils with
such structure have low permeability.
2. Blocky structures
• Particles are joined to form six-sided rectangular lumps (blocks).
3. Cuboidal structure

7 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

 • Soil particle are joined to form cubes or cube-like shapes
4. Columnar structure
• Particles are arranged in column with round tops and cylindrical body
5. Prismatic structure: Particles join to form vertical pillars with flat tops.
6. Granular structure: particles are loosely packed, forming aggregates that are round or
ovoid
7. Crumb structure: particles are loosely joined to form friable, porous aggregates with
irregular shapes. This is the soil best soil structures for arable crop production as it ensure
a suitable balance between soil aeration and water holding capacity.
8. Single grained structure: Particles are not cemented together. each particle is on its
own(e.g. sandy soil)

Effects of soil structure on crop production

• Air circulation in the soil: single grained structures soils allow better movement of soil
air for plant root respire than platy soils.
• Water holding capacity of the soil; crumb soils hold water for plants to use while
single-grain and granular structures lose water more readily through seepage.
• microbial activities in the soil; crumb structures have a better environment for micro-
organism to live and work more actively to break down organic matter to release
nutrients for plants growth than single grain structures
• soil workability; granular structures are more workable than platy structures
• nutrient retention: crumb structures reduce the rate of leaching of mineral sails while
single grain structures lose nutrients through leaching more easily

8 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

• root penetration and development: platy structures hinder root development while
single grain structures facilitates root development
Ways in which soil structure can be destroyed

• Cultivating it when too wet or too dry. When it is too dry, it tends to breaks so easily.
Wet soil gets compacted during cultivation.
• Over-cultivating, which leads to failure of soil to recover after being broken.
• Using heavy machinery which compacts the soil even breaks down the soil structure.
• Raindrops impact: break the soil particles break up and fill up soil pores making it more
difficult for water and air to enter the soil than before.
• Overgrazing which leads leaves bare land making it prone to raindrop impacts which
breaks the soil structure.
• Applying unsuitable chemical fertilisers. For example, application of sodium
compounds to the soil causes deflocculating (breaking down) of soil structure.
Soil structure can be improved and maintained by the following operations

• Planting vegetation on bear land which protects it against raindrop impact

• Correct crop population ensures complete coverage of land against rain drop impact.
• Use of organic fertilizer (manure) help to bind the sol particles together and also
ensures stability of aggregates.
• Crop rotation prevents soil from being broken down by the force of raindrops this is
achieved by including cover crops.
• Fallowing: leaving land crop-free for some years enables it to regain its organic matter
which cements soil particles together to from aggregates.
• Zero grazing: enables soil to regain its organic matter which cements soil particles
together to from aggregates.
• Proper use of heavy agricultural machinery by combining operations like ploughing,
harrowing and ridge construction thereby reducing soil compaction.
• Avoiding overgrazing so that soil is not compacted significantly and soil does not lose
vegetative cover.
• Mulching prevents the soil aggregation from being broken by force of rain drops.
3. SOIL COLOUR
• It refers to the appearance of the soil
Factors that affect soil colour
a. Parent material: reddish or brown soils indicate that contain iron, silica or quartz
(limestone) are whitish in colour and mica has glittering(shiny) appearance
b. Organic matter: soils containing large quantities of organic matter are usually dark/black
in colour
c. Drainage and aeration: poorly drained and aerated soils are usually greyish as opposed
to well drained soils which are brownish in colour.
Determination of soil colour
Materials: soil samples, soil colour chart
Procedure:

• Collect soil samples

• Compare its colour with that shown on the chart
• Record the findings

9 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

Effects of soil colour on crop production
a. It keeps soils temperature warm like black colour
b. It influences the rate at which mineral salts dissolve in soil water and become available
for plants use.
c. It also influences the rate at enzymes in seeds can break down food reserved necessary
for seed germination.
d. It influences the activities of micro-organisms which decompose organic matter
Dark soil absorbs more heat as compared to whitish soils which reflects most of its heat as a
result agricultural soils must be dark.
4. Soil consistency
• The state of soil under different moisture conditions
• Soil consistency determines the easiness with which the individual particles can be
crushed by fingers or cultivation tools
• Soil can be described as soft, friable, plastic, firm depending on the difference in
consistency.
Factors that affect soil consistency

• Moisture content
• Soil structure
Determination of soil consistency using hands:
a. Moist soils
Procedure
• Collect soil samples
• Moisten the slightly
• Press a small amount of soil between forefinger and thumb
• Rate each soil sample as being loose, friable or firm
• Record your findings
Expected results

Loose soil (sandy) Friable (loam) Firm soil (clay)

Do not hold together Are crushed easily under Can be crushed under
gentle pressure moderate pressure

b. Wet soils
➢ Consistency will determined by stickiness of the soil
Procedure

• Collect samples of soil

• Wet the soils
• Press a small amount of soil between the finger and thumb
• Open the fingers slowly
• Observe
• Rate the soil as non-sticky, slightly sticky, sticky or very sticky
Expected results
➢ Soil can be non-sticky(sandy), slightly sticky(loam soil), sticky or very sticky(clay).

10 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

Consistency can also be determined by plasticity of the soil(the extent to which soil can be
rolled into a ribbon)
Procedure

• Collects samples of soil

• Wet the soils
• Roll the soil sample between the fingers and the thumb to form a ribbon
• Observe
• Rate the soil, as non-plastic, slightly plastic, plastic or very plastic
Expected results

Non-plastic (sand) Plastic (loam) Very plastic (clay)

No ribbon formed when the A ribbon is formed and can A ribbon is formed and
siuk is rolled be broken easily. The soil cannot be broken easily. The
can return to its original soil can be rolled back to its
state original position
b. Dry soil
Procedure

• Collect different soil samples

• Dry the soil for two days
• Try to break the soil samples between the thumb and fingers
• Observe
• Rate the soil as loose, hard or very hard

Soft (loam and sand) Hard (clay)

Can break easily under slight pressure Not to be crushed
Determination of the soil consistency using cultivation method
Materials

• Hoes, 10 litres of water

Procedure

• Pour 7.5 litres of water on one part of the soil and 2.5 litres of water on the other part
• Cultivate the soils; with hoes
Expected results
➢ The soil with 2.5 litres of water is easier to work with
Conclusion: soil consistency change with the amount of water present in the soil
Effects of soil consistency on crop production
a. Workability; sticky soils are very difficult for farmer to work with because the soil
sticks to farming implements like hoe, ploughs, ridger, etc
b. Destruction of soil structure. Plastic/sticky soils get compacted and reduce their
porosity. This in turn reduces air circulation, water infiltration and percolation and
plants root penetration through the soil
c. Erosion. Soils that are weakly cemented easily break into individuals’ soil grains and
become more subjects to erosion.

11 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

 d. Seedling emergence. Plastic soils break easily by heavy rainfall. This makes it
difficult for emerging seedlings to get out of the soil.
5. Soil porosity
• Percentage volume of the total bulk of the soil which is not occupied by soil particles.
• Or proportion of volume of soil that is taken up by pore spaces
• Clay has the highest porosity because it has tiny pores spaces which are many
• Sandy soils has lowest porosity because it has few pore spaces which are large in size
Percentages of porosity

• Depends on soil texture. It ranges from 40% in sandy soils to about 60% in clay and
loam soil is about 55%
Calculation of porosity

• Best described by bulk density and particle density

• Bulk density: mass of oven dry divided by volume of oven dry soil. includes both
pores spaces and solid particles
• Particle density: is defined as the mass of unit volume of solid.
𝒘𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒅𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒐𝒊𝒍
𝒃𝒖𝒍𝒌 𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚 =
𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒅𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒐𝒊𝒍
𝒘𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒅 𝒔𝒐𝒊𝒍
𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒍𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚 =
𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒊𝒍 𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒅
𝒃𝒖𝒍𝒌 𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚
%𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚 = 𝟏𝟎𝟎 − × 𝟏𝟎𝟎%
𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒍𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚
EXAMPLE: if 10𝑐𝑚3 of soil weighs 50grams.calculate bulk density porosity if the
soil was compressed to occupy 80% of the cubic.
𝟓𝟎𝒈
𝒃𝒖𝒍𝒌 𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚 = = 𝟓𝒈/𝒄𝒎𝟑
𝟏𝟎𝒄𝒎𝟑
𝟓𝟎𝒈
𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒍𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚 = = 𝟔. 𝟐𝟓𝒈/𝒄𝒎𝟑
𝟖𝒄𝒎𝟑

𝟓𝒈 × 𝒄𝒎𝟑
%𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚 = 𝟏𝟎𝟎 − × 𝟏𝟎𝟎%
𝒄𝒎𝟑 × 𝟔. 𝟐𝟓
= 𝟏𝟎𝟎 − 𝟖𝟎
= 𝟐𝟎%
𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆 that by compressing the soil, the volume decreases while mass
remains constant
Determination of porosity
Experiment 1
Materials required: a lump of soil, measuring cylinder, beam balance, burner, matches, and
crucible
Procedure

• Heat the soil gently in a crucible until the water evaporates from the soil
• weigh the soil
• Heat the soil again until the weight is constant
• Find the volume of the heated soil
𝒘𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒅𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒐𝒊𝒍
• Calculate bulk density using this formula=
𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒅𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒐𝒊𝒍
• Compress the soil again

12 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

 • Record the volume
• Calculate particle density as weight as weight of solids divided by the volume of the
solids
𝒃𝒖𝒍𝒌 𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚
• Calculate percentage porosity using this formula=100 − × 100%
𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒍𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚
➢ Note that porosity can also be determined by determining water holding capacity of the
and capillarity of the soil in experiment
Experiment 2: To determine the capillarity of different soil
Materials: three long capillary tubes, cotton, water trough, clock, a ruler, dry sand, dry
clay soil, dry loam soil

Procedure:
• Crush all soil except sand
• Close one end of the each tube with a plug of cotton wool
• Fill each capillary tube with different soil type
• Support each tube with a clamp stand in an empty water trough.
• Pour water into the water trough to a depth of 10cm
• Removes the tubes from the trough after 5 minutes and measure the height of water in
every tube
• Then leave the apparatus overnight and measure
Observation

• Water rises in sandy and loamy soil but very slowly in clsy soil in the forst 5 minutes
• After 24 hours the water level in clay is the highest followed by loam soil and final sandy
soil
Conclusion

• Clay soil has the highest capillarity because of fine pore spaces
• Loamy soil has organic matter which absorbs water relatively fast
• Sandy soil has poorest capillarity because of its large air spaces.
Porosity affects crops in the following ways
a. Aeration: soil which is porous allows air to circulate easily for seed germination and
respiration of microbes and plants roots.

13 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

b. Water infiltration and percolation: water infiltration rate is fast in porous soils for
dissolution and uptake of nutrients.
c. Nutrient retention: porous soils are poor in retaining nutrients because most of them are
drained to deeper soil horizons where most plants roots cannot reach.
d. Root penetration and development. Micropores impede root penetration thereby
reducing yield in crops like cassava and potatoes greatly.
6. SOIL TEMPERATURE
➢ Refers to the coldness or hotness of the soil.
➢ How is the soil temperature determined
• Soil temperature is used to determined soil temperature.
• Push the thermometer into the soil and wait to see consistent readings for few days.
Factors that affects soil temperature
a. Soil colour: dark soils have higher soil temperature because they absorb more heat.
b. Vegetative cover: covered soil receives less heat from the sun hence low temperature.
c. Soil moisture content: a moist soil is generally cooler than dry soil
d. Latitudes: soils that are close to the equator are hotter than those soils close to the poles
and this is because the sun is overhead more times than any other place on earth.
e. Season of the year: the soil that is exposed to sunlight, longer in summer than in winter.
f. Slope of the land: a garden which slopes towards the north in the southern hemisphere is
heated more than land which faces south.
g. Soil depth: topsoil experiences more temperature variation or fluctuations than sub soil.
Determination of soil temperature
Materials: different soil samples, container, thermometers.
Procedure:

• Collect the soil samples from outside environment by using the containers
• Push the thermometer into soil sample
• Wait for few minutes
• Record the readings
Effects of soil temperature on crop production

• High soil temperature increases chemical reactions in the soil hence more mineral salts
dissolve into soluble minerals which become more available
• High soil temperature increases activities of the microorganisms in the soil e.g. nitrifying
bacteria becomes active when soil temperature is high
• Seed germination and root growth is fast when soil temperature is high
• Absorption and transport of water and nutrients by plants is low when temperature is low.
• Rate of evaporation and transpiration is high when soil temperature is high.
Ways of modifying soil temperature

• Manure application: manure absorbs more heat from the sun since it is black hence high
soil temperature.
• mulching crops(spreading leaves, dry grass or other vegetative matter on the soil)
• Planting vegetative cover since it allows soil to heat slowly during the day and cools
down slowly during the night.
• Irrigating and draining the soil to reduce the temperature.
• Growing crops in green house since the temperate is controlled
• Draining the soil help to warm up the soil hence increasing its temperature

14 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

7. SOIL DEPTH
• soil depth is the combined depth of the soil and sub soils
• Examples of deep rooted crops: cotton, tea, coffee need deep soils in order to do well
• Soils which are well developed and mature tend to be deep. Deep soils have a very
deep top soil layer. They also have a well-developed sub soil layer. on the other hand,
shallow soils have
Factors that affect soil depth
a. Slope of the land: soils on steep slope are shallow because of erosion while on flat and
low lands are deeper because there is no relatively erosion and some soils are deposited
there from highlands.
b. Parent material: parent material which are resistant to weathering form deep soils.
c. Age of the soil: young soils are shallow since there is little volume of soil formed
Determination of soil depth
Materials: tape measure or ruler, a hole, land
Procedure:

• Dig a pit
• Measure the depth of each horizon using a ruler or a tape measure
• Record the measurements
Effects of soil depth on crop production
➢ Amount of nutrients: the deeper the soil the larger the volume of soil from which plants
can absorb nutrients hence high crop production.
➢ Amount of soil water: the deeper the soil, the more water it can hold, making it possible
for crops to survive longer periods of dry spell
➢ Root development: deeper soils promote root development because of large volume of
soil hence shallow soils can only accommodate shallow rooted crops.
➢ Control of soil erosion: deep soils helps in controlling soil erosion since they hold large
amount rain water.
➢ Microbial activities: the deeper the soils the greater the zone available for soil
microorganism to break down organic matter.
➢ It determines the choice of that can be grown on particular land. Soils that are deep
and loose are favourable for most plants because their roots can go as deep as they want
without restriction. On other hand shallow soils can only accommodate shallow rooted
crops.
➢ Soil aeration: the deeper the soil, the greater the aeration in the soil for root respiration
and development for increased crop production.

15 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

UNIT 2: CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF THE SOIL
➢ They affects availability of essential mineral elements in the soil and activities of micro
organism
List of chemical properties of the soil
a. PH
b. Nutrient status
c. Salinity
d. Cation exchange capacity
1. Soil PH
• Refers to the degree of acidity and alkalinity of a soil.
• This is a result of concentration of hydrogen ions (𝑯+ )and hydroxyl ion (𝑶𝑯− )in
the soil
Ways determining soil PH
a. Use of universal indicator
Materials required

• Dry soil sample

• universal indicator
• PH scale
• Distilled water
• Test tube
• Cork

16 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

 • Barium sulphate
Procedure

• take a small sample and grind it

• put it in a test tube
• add a chemical like barium sulphate to break the soil particles further
• add distilled water in a test tube followed by few drops of universal indicator
• cover the top with a cork
• shake the test tube vigorously
• let the mixture settle for not less than 30 minutes
• observe the colour change in the test tube
• compare the colour change in the test tube with the colour on the colour chart and
read off the PH
Expected results
➢ if the soil is acidic the indicator changes to red
➢ if the soil is an alkaline it changes to blue
➢ if soil is neutral it changes to green
▪ PH less than 7 indicates the soil acidic
▪ PH greater than 7 indicates a basic/alkaline soil
▪ PH 7 indicates a neutral soil

b. Determining soil PH using litmus paper

Materials

• Soil sample
• Distilled water
• Test tube
• Litmus paper( both blue and red)
• PH scale
Procedure

• Put a well grinded soil into a test tube

• Add distilled water
• Add barium sulphate to break soil particles to individual grains
• Let the mixture settle down
• Dip litmus paper
• See the colour change on the litmus paper
Expected results/outcome

• Red litmus paper turn blue if soil is basic and

17 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

 • Blue litmus paper turn red if the soil is acidic
c. to determine soil pH using a pH meter.
Materials: pH meter, soil sample, distilled water
Procedure:

• Put a well grinded soil into a test tube

• Add distilled water
• Add barium sulphate to break soil particles to individual grains
• Let the mixture settle down
• Dip an electrode of a pH meter into the soil solution
• Record the reading on the screen
Expected results: pH values less than 7 means that the soil; is acidic and pH values greater
than 7 means the soil is alkaline.
Factors affecting soil PH
a. Use of acid forming fertilizers: the continuous and heavy application of sulphate of
ammonia makes the soil acidic.
b. Leaching:
➢ When plant nutrients such as calcium (𝑪𝒂𝟐+ ), magnesium (𝑴𝒈𝟐+ ) and
sodium (𝑵𝒂+ ) are leached down the soil profile, they are replaced by hydrogen ions
which lowers soil PH.
c. Microbial activity:
➢ Reduces soil PH as hydrogen ions are released during decomposition of organic
matter making the soil acidic.
➢ Carbon dioxide produced by microbes dissolve in water to form carbonic acid
decreasing soil pH (making soil acidic)
d. Acid rains
➢ Carbon compounds emitted into the atmosphere in industries when combines with
water to from carbonic acid which gets incorporated into the soil making it acidic.
e. Crop removal:
➢ Crops absorb various ions in soil and after harvesting if the crops are not incorporated
in the soil this will leave hydrogen ions to dominate the soil (making the soil acidic).
f. Weathering of parent material:
➢ if it contains sulphur, PH is reduced through formation of sulphuric acid, making soil
acidic
➢ soils from limestone have a high PH , making them alkaline
➢ it also results in accumulation of ions like 𝑘 + , 𝑁𝑎+ 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑀𝑔2+ which increase soil
PH, making it alkaline
g. Drainage:
➢ It is linked to leaching and sandy soil since it highly leached tend to have low PH
than clay soil which has high soil PH due to low levels of leaching.
h. Type of vegetation: in forest soil PH tends to be low as compared to grassland this
attributed by high levels of soil decomposition of organic matter.
WAYS OF MODIFYING SOIL PH
a. Application of agricultural lime which contains calcium oxide. Agricultural lime when
applied to the soil neutralises soil acidity.
b. Application of manure e.g. khola manure reduces soil acidity.
c. Application of inorganic fertilizer like sulphate of ammonia decreases soil ph i.e
makes soil acidic

18 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

Effects of soil PH on crop production
a. Affects availability of soil nutrients: e.g. at low PH become insoluble by forming less
soluble compound like iron and aluminium while iron and potassium become available in
the soil at high soil PH and plants can access them.
b. It determines the choice of crop to be grown in an area. Acid soils are best for tea
production.
c. High acid soils limit the activities of microorganism and this means organic matter
incorporated into the soil will not decompose and nutrients will not be released for plant
growth
d. In acid soils, damage of crops by nematodes is more serious than in neutral soils

2. NUTRIENT STATUS OF THE SOIL

➢ This has to do with availability of different minerals in a soil in right proportions. It is
these nutrients which determine a soil’s capacity to support crops
Factors affecting nutrient status of the soil
a. The parent material from which soil was formed. Soils formed from limestone tend
to have high contents of calcium. While soils formed from sandstone and granites give
rise to sand soil which is low in nutrient contents.
b. Soil PH.
• Affects availability of nutrients in the soil for instance phosphorus in acidic soils
become insoluble and therefore unavailable to plants.
• It also influences multiplication and activities of beneficial soil organisms some of
which are responsible for nitrogen fixation and decomposition of organic matter.
c. Leaching: in sandy soils, during heavy rainfall soluble salts like nitrates are washed
down the soil profile, leaving the top soil with low nutrient status.
d. Nutrients uptake by plants: nutrients extracted by crops if not ploughed back into the
soil, more nutrients are lost.
e. Crop removal: nutrients are removed with crops as they are being harvested.
f. Soil erosion: when top soil is eroded, it goes away with mineral nutrients it contains.
g. Method of cultivation: use of bush fire to clear land, overgrazing, monocropping,
improper use of farm machinery, cultivation of marginal land affects the availability
and removal of plants nutrients.
Effects of nutrient status on crop production
a. It affects vegetative growth of crops: nitrogen for example is responsible for synthesis
of protein molecule which is necessary for growth,
b. Some nutrients like phosphorous: brings forth resistance against diseases due to
lignin they form.
c. They affect maturity of crop. Tobacco matures if amount of phosphorous supersedes
that of nitrogen. Nitrogen promotes succulence while phosphorus brings maturity.
d. Yield potential of crops and is imperative for farmer to maintain high nutrient status of
the soil by applying fertilizers.
e. Soil PH. Determines choice and productivity of crops

3. SALINITY
➢ Is a condition of the soil that is associated with the accumulation of soluble salts in the
soil
➢ Saline soil: soils which contain concentration of neutral soluble salts with a PH of
more than 8.5.
➢ Saline soils are sometimes called white alkaline soils this is when a white layer on top
of soil becomes very visible.

19 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

Examples of soluble salts

• Nitrates
• Sulphates
• Chloride
• Bicarbonate
➢ Sodic soils: soils which contain high amount of sodium
➢ Soils tend to accumulate on the surface as white substance and tend to be licked by
goats and cattle.
➢ Common in Chikhwawa,Kasusngu and Mzimba where people even make salts
➢ Saline-Sodic soils: soils containing both soluble salts and sodium salt and they are toxic
to plants
Determination of salinity
Method 1
Experiment to determine salinity of soil using salinity meter
Apparatus: a soil sample, distilled water, weighing scale, measuring cylinder, container,
salinity
Procedure:

• Collect a soil sample and leave it to dry for two days

• Crush the soil sample
• Place 50g of crushed soil in the container and add 250ml distilled
• Shake the contents strongly
• Allow the mixture to settle for few minutes
• Dip salinity meter electrode into the solution
record the readings.
Method 2
Experiment to determine salinity of soil using boiling method
Materials: a soil sample, distilled water, weighing scale, measuring cylinder, container,
source of heat.
Procedure:

• Dry soil sample

• Crush soil sample
• Price 50g of the rushed soil in the container And 250ml distilled
• Shake the contents strongly
• Allow the mixture to settler for few minutes
• Filter the water and pour it into the evaporating tin and heat it until water evaporates
• Weigh the residues that will be left in the tin to determine quantity of salinity.
Method 3
➢ Salinity can also be determined using litmus paper, universal indicator and using a
Ph.an indicator of basic/alkaline implies that the soil is also saline.

20 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

Causes of salinity
a. Irrigating virgin land with poor quality water which can be visibly be seen on the
surface.
b. Application of fertilizers which eventually lead to accumulation of soluble salts
c. Parent material which as it weathers, it releases its salts into the soil
d. Low rainfall and evaporation
e. Poor drainage resulting in build-up of salts
Ways of managing saline soils

• Irrigating by flooding where salts are flushed and become leached

• Drainage so that the salts are removed together with water.
• Application of gypsum which converts insoluble carbonates salts into sulphate which
are readily soluble and easily leached
• Growing salts tolerant crops e.g. cotton, Spanish, rape
• Mulching to reduce evaporation
Effects of salinity on crop production
a. It causes plasmolysis in plants: this is a condition in which plants lose water from the
cells to the soil in attempt to balance off salts concentration between plant and soil and
causes death.
b. It causes toxicity to plants especially the roots causing impairment in absorption of
water and minerals salts.
c. When sodium increase in soils, sodium ions tends to disperse mineral colloids which
then develop a tight, impervious soil structure. This prevents drainage of excess water
from farmable land.
d. Interferes with microbial activities such as nitrification, decomposition of organic
matter which is beneficial to crops since saline soils are basic.
4. CATION EXCHANGE CAPACITY
➢ Is the ability of the soil to exchange cations
• Or it is measure of ability to hold and release various nutrients for plants use.
• exchangeable cation are 𝐶𝑎++ 𝑁𝑎+ , 𝑀𝑔++ , 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐾 +
• examples of anion are chloride 𝐶𝑙 − , 𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠 𝑁𝑂3 − and 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑏𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠 𝐶𝑂3 −
• cations are held or adsorbed into clay colloids and organic matter
• anions are found in soil solution
• Cations are not easily leached in the soil because they are strongly attracted to clay
organic matter because they are positively charged. but can be replaced in the soil
through cation exchanged process.
Factors that affects cation exchange capacity

• Amount of clay: then more clay colloids in the soil the higher the cation exchange
capacity because I t has large surface area to volume for cation exchange. Clay has
more negative charges for cation exchange while sand has no electric charge.
• Soil pH: as soil pH increases CEC also increases
• Concentration of the cation in the soil: the higher the concentration the high the
CEC
• Amount of organic matter in the soil: the higher the amount of hums the higher the
CEC value because it has large quantities of negative charges to attract

21 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

 An example of cation exchange process
❖ When lime is added to acidic soils (with high concentration of hydrogen ions). Calcium
and magnesium in the soil will replace the hydrogen ions thereby raising the soil PH. this
in turn improves soil condition.
• Organic matter is aware house for plants nutrients and is crucial for the formation of
aggregates. Plants nutrients found in organic matter include 𝑁𝐻4 + 𝐶𝑎++
𝑁𝑎+ , 𝑀𝑔++ , 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐾 +
• Sand has no capacity to exchange cations because it has no electric charge. This can be
improved by adding organic matter.
Effects of cation exchange capacity on crop production
a. It enables nutrients that are strongly held/adsorbed by clay or organic matter to be
released to the soil solution where they become available for plants use.
b. It also enables cations to be transferred from soil solution and become adsorbed by clay
and organic matter where they cannot easily be lost by leaching.
c. Enables hydrogen held by colloids and humus be replaced by basic elements such as
calcium and magnesium and in the process reduce soils acidity
Adsorption: a process by which soil particles attracts and holds some mineral nutrients
tightly, making them unavailable to plants

UNIT 3: AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCIES

AND THEIR SERVICES
➢ There are a wide variety of agricultural development agencies in Malawi which play
positive roles in agricultural production
Table 1 showing various agricultural development agencies and services they provide
Agricultural development agency Services provided in
Malawi
Department Of Agricultural Research Services Research
The Agricultural And Marketing Cooperation (ADMARC) Marketing
Land Resources And Conservation Unit Infrastructures
Agriculture Communication Branch Extension
Marketing Agents Processing
Department Of Agricultural Research (DARS) Production
The Financial Rural Finance Company credit
SERVICES OFFERED BY AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCIES
a. Research
➢ Is an investigation that is carried out in order to find out the solution to a problem. It is
designed to collect, analyse and interpret data into information which is useful.
➢ The DARS conducts research in order to provide farmers with information creates an
increase to production and their commodities.
Agriculture research activities include

• Testing soil samples to determine their fertility levels and to make recommendations on
fertiliser application.
• Testing, certifying and monitoring the production, processing, and storage and
marketing seeds.
• Breeding and releasing resistant crop varieties

22 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

 • Establishing plant quarantines and other government control measures
• Plant pest diagnostic and advisory services provided by the ADMARC
• Recommending the use of specific pesticides supplied by ADMARC
• Improving genetic makeup of livestock in order to improve production.
• Providing artificial insemination services for dairy farmers to achieve cross-breeding.
• Testing, certifying and monitoring the production and release of farm machinery.
• Analysing, testing and making fertilizers recommendations.
Importance of agricultural research services to the growing population

• It provides high yielding varieties and livestock breeds

• It enables farmers to obtain high quality from their crops and livestock in terms of
nutritive value, flavour and colour
• It increases farm income by increasing yields per unit area or per animal
• It comes up with superior inputs and technologies t make farming more profitable and
reliable
• It introduces new methods of crops and animal husbandry
• It finds out better ways of reducing the negative effects of climate change, pest, diseases,
parasites in crop and livestock
• It improves farming systems by finding out better and more efficient ways of
mechanisation, input use and risk management
• It comes up with better ways of reducing post-harvest loses in storage
Main agricultural research agencies in Malawi
Examples of research stations in Malawi
1. Lifuwu Research Station in Salima for Groundnuts for Rice Research
2. Chitala Research Station in Salima for Groundnuts and Cotton
3. Makoka Research Station in Zomba for Cotton
4. Baka Research Station In Mzimba for Livestock
5. Bvumbwe Research Station in Thyolo for Horticulture
6. Chitedze Research Station in Lilongwe for Legumes and Farm Machinery
7. Lunyangwa Research Station in Mzuzu for Pastures And Livestock
• Mwimba Research Station
8. In Kasungu for Tobacco
9. Kasinthula Research Station in Chikhwawa For Rice
10. Kavuzi Research Station in Nkhata Bay for Coffee
b. Agricultural extension services
Substitution table for the definition of agricultural extension
System of transferring Information fro researcher t farmers
ideas m s o
Way of Taking facts Research Farming
stations families
knowledge
Means of Bringing messages technologi Farmers’
st groups
advice
Mechanism disseminating skills Experimen Farming
s of tations communitie
methods s

23 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

 Structure of Communicati Practices Scientific Rural
on studies farming
recommendation societies

Extension activities include

• Advertising smallholder farmers on a particular enterprise to increase production or
quality of products
• Training farmers to change their attitudes and improve their knowledge and skills as
farmers
• Conducting campaigns where new technologies are displayed in order to attract and
persuade farmers to try them out in their fields.
• Performing method or results demonstration as a way of persuading or influencing
farmers to adopt new ideas, practices, techniques and recommendation
• Arranging field days in extension planning areas to raise awareness of recommended
practices and encourage farmers to use them in their own fields
• Producing agriculture publications such as posters, pamphlets, leaflets and magazines to
farmers to read. Za Achikumbe Is Distributed Free By The Agricultural Communication
Branch
• Holding agricultural shows and exhibits where farmers display their products and learn
from one another how the items are produced.
• Airing farm radio broadcast for farmers to listen to e.g. Ulimi Wa Lero on MBC
• Producing films and puppet shows to persuade farmers to adopt new technologies
• Conducting farmers’ group meetings’ group meeting to discuss important agricultural
practices
Agricultural extension services
The main agencies that provide agricultural services in Malawi

• The department of agricultural extension services which works through the agricultural
communication branch, agricultural development divisions, district agricultural
development offices and the extension planning areas.
• Non-government organisations (NGOs) for example, development aid from people to
people (DAPP), Hunger Project And Concern Universal
• Private extension companies for example, National Smallholder Farmers Association Of
A Malawi (NASFAM), The One Acre Fund, The Smallholder Coffee Farmers’ Trust, The
Horticultural Development Organisation Of Malawi and Wellness For Agriculture And
Life Advancement (WALA).
• Manufacturers and suppliers of agricultural inputs (such as fertilisers, pesticides,
herbicides, herbicides, feeds, and drugs and agricultural equipment) who offer advice to
farmers at the point of sale on how to use products. Examples of such agencies are
Agricultural Trading Company(ATC), Proto Feeds Ltd and Charles Stewart Day Old
Chicks Ltd
Importance of agricultural extension to the growing population

• Bringing scientific knowledge to farmers

• Improving technology adoption by farmers
• Improving productivity of agricultural land
• Developing capacity of farmers through training
• Breaking the vicious cycle of poverty in rural areas

24 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

 Extension breaks vicious cycle by
• Training the farmers
• Improving the welfare of farming families
• Promoting income distribution
• Promoting sustainable use of farming (natural) resources
c. Production credit services
• Agricultural credit is the amount of money that a financial institution is prepared to
lend a farm
Importance of agricultural credit

• Increasing agricultural production if it is used to buy the inputs which increases crop
yield
• Increasing income per unit of given resources if the credit is invested it to increase the
output per animal
• Improving nutrition and food security among farmers because high farm income
enables farmers to buy nutritious food for their families
• Improving welfare of farmers through increasing farm income helps farmers to pay for
the necessities for family such as medicines and household goods
• Increasing employment opportunities for rural people through the credit helps farmers
to expand thereby employing more worker
• Employing the poverty cycle among farmers.
Examples of agencies that provide credit in Malawi

• Commercial banks such as national bank of Malawi

• Cooperative societies such as Savings And Credit Cooperative Societies (SACCO)
• Malawi Rural Finance Company. Branches are located in every (EPA)
• One acre fund
• Non-institutional agencies such as traders, friends and relatives
d. Agricultural infrastructural services
➢ The term “agricultural infrastructure” refers to large scale basic physical and
organisation facilities needed to support the operation of farm enterprise.
Examples of agricultural infrastructure include

• Transports networks such as roads and bridges, rail networks and pedestrian walkway
• Communication systems such as postal, telephone, internet, television and radio stations
• Water supply systems
• Power(electricity) supply system

25 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

 • Food storage facilities such as the network of grain silos located in the regions and
districts
• The networks of agricultural experiment centres and research stations spread
throughout the country
• The networks of ADMARC markets and cattle markets located in all extension areas
• Livestock protection infrastructures such as the networks of dip tanks
Ways in which agricultural infrastructures are important

• Facilitating the transportation of farm inputs

• Increasing yields in agriculture through irrigation helps the farmer to obtain high yields.
• Enabling the transportation of farm produce to markets
• Promoting use of improved technology through rural electrification helps farmers to use
motorised water pumps for irrigation to increase production
• Attracting and supporting manufacturing companies to set their industries near farmers.
This encourages farmers to increase crop and livestock production.
• Promoting agricultural trade through good communication systems
• Facilitating dissemination of agricultural information when roads are good
• Improving farm income. Good transport system reduces cost of transport, production
and marketing.
Agencies that provide infrastructure services that support agriculture in Malawi are

• Rural Infrastructure Development Programme(RIDP) focusing on roads and irrigation

infrastructure
• Ministry of Transport And Public Infrastructure
• National Roads Authority
• Malawi Rural Development Fund(MARDEF)
• Ministry of Irrigation and Water Development
• Department of Veterinary Services
• National Water Development Programme
e. Processing services
➢ Processing involves changing the form of agricultural produce to a form which
consumers prefer.
Importance of agricultural processing services to the growing population

• Creating market where farmers can sell their produce and obtain an income, which
encourages farmers to produce more for growing population
• Adding value to the produce so that famers can gain more from selling the products
• Providing employment to the population engaged in processing the produce
• Increasing shelf life of the produce so that it can be kept in storage for long periods
without loss in quality, for the growing population to enjoy.
• Improving the taste of edible produce for the growing population
Processing agencies and their raw material and products
Processing agencies Agriculture produce products

Universal industries Ltd Cassava, potatoes Crisp

groundnuts Cutter, tambala nuts
Wheat, milk, eggs biscuits
Malawi dairy industries milk Yoghurt, butter, cheese

26 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

bakhressa maize Maize meal, stock feeds
Rab processor Maize Stock feeds
rice milled
Chibuku breweries maize Chibuku beer
nail Chillies, peppers Abale samalani hot chill
tomatoes Tamato sauce
Agro-feeds Maize, soya beans Stock feeds
Malawi mangoes Ltd Mangoes, bananas Fruit juice

f. Marketing
➢ Means the whole range of activities which are involved in transfer of a commodity from
point of production to point of consumption.
Some marketing activities

• Buying
• Selling
• Grading of the products
• Transport he produce
• Storing the produce
➢ ADMARC is mandated by parliament to carry out the various marketing functions.
ADMARC PLAY THE FOLLOWING ROLES
• Planning, monitoring and regulating crop production
• Licensing crop production for example tobacco
Importance of agricultural marketing services

• Provide inputs to the farmers

• Providing an income to farmers after selling their produce
• Adding value to farm produce after grading
• Providing foreign currency after exporting the produce
• Distributing good and services though the transport function of marketing
• Encouraging farmers to use resources wisely to produce more and better quality
products
Importance of the agricultural development agencies and their services to the growing
population

• Promoting food security by helping the farmers to use improved inputs and methods of
growing crops and raising livestock for high yields to make more food available to the
growing population
• Increasing cash income for rural farmers by promoting modern farming technologies
and practices to make agriculture more profitable,
• Increasing raw material production for agro-based industries: the support from
agricultural development agencies and their services results in increased yield which is
supplied to agro-based industries
• Improving employment opportunities by employing people on farms and the urban
population find jobs in agro based industries.
• Improving government revenue through increase yields and revenue for the farmer on
which government charges taxes to fund public services such as hospital and schools.
• Increasing foreign reserves after exporting crops such as cotton, tobacco, tea and
groundnut which is used for importing various goods.

27 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

• Regulating production levels of certain crops in order to raise prices
• Providing efficient transport system to carter for perishable crops like tomatoes so that
they do not go bad while in transit.
• Providing credit facilities to farmer to enable them increase the volume of production
and hence more food to growing population
• Encouraging bulk selling of commodities by small scale farmers so that they can earn
more to meet the domestic demands.

UNIT4 FARM RECORDS

➢ Farm records: refer to the systematic entries of various farm business activities and
transaction including data on finances and inventory the farm has for certain period of
time.
➢ Depreciation: this is loss of value of the item over time
➢ Salvage value: this is the value of asset after at the end of lifespan
➢ Obsolesce of the machines: this occurs when the value of an asset falls results of an asset
becoming out-dated or the invention more efficient asset or discovery of a new fashion or
process e.g. a discovery of an advanced computer, water pump, etc.
Types of farm records
➢ Depends on the type of information that is being dealt with.
➢ There are three types of farm records and these are
• Inventory records
• Production records
• Financial records
1. Inventory records
➢ An inventory is a list of all assets of the farm
➢ It includes fixed assets like building, sheds and fences, machinery, tools, equipment and
livestock It should be taken at the end of farming year usually in September when they
is less work on the farm.
➢ Assets are things which can be converted into cash
Table 1 below shows a farm inventory record
Item Quantity Date Original Remarks
Acquired Cost(Mk)
Cattle 7 13/11/12 900,000 Bought from research station,
need artificial
insemination(AI)
Sheep 42 21/06/12 420,000 Bred on farm, replace male,
inbreeding
Hand hoes 11 13/03/11 50,000 Bought new, not adequate
plough 1 24/09/13 1, 230,000 Bought new, adjust discs
Spray race 1 16/09/13 650,000 Constructed, ready for use
STEPS INVOLVED IN TAKING AN INVENTORY
i. Count the items physically.
ii. Physical measurement of, for example, size of land, buildings and other structures, and
available crop.
iii. Estimating the value of assets using the present market prices.
➢ When estimating the present market value of the equipment and machinery, it is
important to consider depreciation( loss of value of the item over time)
Lifespan: period an item is expected to be in use and its operation is efficient.

28 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

Ways of calculating depreciation
1. Straight-line method
2. Reducing balance method
3. Sum of the digits method
1. Straight line method
➢ The book value is found by subtracting a fixed value each year.
An example
The cost of an item is estimated at K9, 000 and its estimated salvage value is K1000 and the last
span is 8 years.

𝒅𝒆𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒖𝒎

𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑡 − 𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒂𝒍𝒗𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒆
=
𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑛 𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑡

Example
𝐾9,000 − 𝐾1000
𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑢𝑚 = 𝐾1000 𝑃𝐸𝑅 𝑌𝐸𝐴𝑅
8
Table 2 straight line method
Year end Straight line annual Remaining book value of the machine at
depreciation (MK) the end of each year
1 1000 K9,000-K1000=K8000
2 1000 K8000 -K1000=K7000
3 1000 K7000 -K1000=K6000
4 1000 K6000- K1000=K5000

2. Reducing balance method

➢ The scrap value varies from year to year

𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟 = 𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑏𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 − 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑐𝑟𝑎𝑝 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒,

𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑡ℎ 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟 = 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑟𝑑 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑏𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 − 𝑠𝑐𝑟𝑎𝑝 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒
Year end Reducing balance annual Remaining book value of the
depreciation at 25% machine at the end of each year
1 25% of K9 000=K2,250 K9000- K2,250= K6,750
2 25% of K6,750=K1,688 K6,750- K1,688= K5,062
3 25% of K5,062=K1 266 K5,062- K1 266= K3,796
4 25% of K3,796=K949 K3,796- K949=K2, 847
3. Sum of digits method
➢ The digits are summed up
➢ The total becomes the denominator used for solving depreciation
➢ Before calculating depreciation, subtract the scrap or salvage value of the capital item.
The value that remains is called depreciation value or depreciable property
Table 3 sum of digits method
year Sum of digits annual Remaining value/book value of the
depreciation machine at the end of each year
1 3/6 of K8,000=K1778 K9,000- K1778=K7,222
2 2/6 of K8000=K1556 K7,222- K1556=K5666
3 1/6 of K8000=K1333 K5666- K1333=K4 333
∑=6 K4 667

29 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

4. PRODUCTION RECORDS
➢ Show raw amount of yield from crops and animals
➢ Tells the inputs used in producing a crop or raising animals and the farm produce or
outputs
➢ Farmers use both variables which vary with crops grown and animal raised. Fixed
cost is use for a long time e.g. building and equipment, permanent labour.
➢ Examples of productions records that a farmer can keep are as follows
a. Egg production record
date Number of Number of egg Number Number Laying remarks
layers collected of egg of egg not percentage
broken broken
01/02/17 200 150 10 140 75% Low yield
03/02/17 200 200 15 185 100% High yield
Importance of the record
•
Helps the farmers to know the total number of eggs laid
•
Helps the farmer to detect if theft occurs
•
It can also help the farmer to reveal weakness in handling the eggs if too many are
broken so that the correct measures can be put in place
b. Health record

date Number symptom Disease treatment Drug Veterinarian cost remar

of ks
animals

Importance of the record

• Help to determine health of animals that can be selected for breeding
• To determine animals that can be culled/isolated/treated
• To calculate costs of treatments
c. Livestock number records
➢ Is the record of number of livestock on the farm at the begging and at the end of the year taking
into account of those that were born, dead or slaughtered
livestock Number Number Number total Number Number Number
at the bought born died sold/slaughtered at the
beginning or end
received
pigs 300 20 40 360 5 5 350
rabbit
Importance of the records
• The farmer will know the number of animals died since this can reveal weakness in the
management
• Helps the farmer to know the number of animals so that he can buy feed, vaccinate and
provide enough space.
• Helps the farmer to know the number of animals so that he can detect theft
d. Vaccination record

disease Name of vaccine Date 1 cost remarks

Importance of the record

• Helps the farmer to know the types of vaccine for the specific disease
• Helps the farmer to calculate cost of vaccine so that he can budget
• Reminds the farmer about the last date of vaccination since must be even regular interval
effective control

30 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

e. Sheep breeding record
Number of ewes Service Lambing Number Lambing Number remarks
period date of lambs percentage of lambs
(month) born weaned

Importance of the record

• Helps to know number of lambs born and determined whether the animals is more
productive or not
• Helps the farmer to know expected date for parturition so that he can get prepared
• Pregnancy test result can assists the farmer to predict which animals are not fertile so
that they can be culled.
• Date of service can assists help the to predict date of calving and get prepared
• Calving interval helps the farmer to know cow with a long calving interval in order
to cull
f. Crop production records
Crop planted Date of Date of Fertilizer Amount Harvesting remarks
ploughing planting used of bags date
Maize 21/01/2017 10/11/2016 23:21:0+4s 4 07/06/2017 Good
harvest
soya 11/01/2017 11/12/2016 Urea 2 03/05/2017 Good
harvest
Importation of field operation records

• Helps farmers to know timing for various operations so that they can plan for future
• Helps the farmer to know the number of the labour required so that he can hire
enough labour.
5. Financial records
➢ Refers to written in about money paid into the farm or paid out of the farm.
Information kept in financial records
a. Expenditure
i. Purchase: a record of funds spent for buying items such as farm inputs
ii. Expenses: funds paid out for services offered to the farm such as salaries/wages,
payment and bills
b. Income
• Sales: cash obtained after selling farm produce including value of crops eaten by the
farmer,
• Receipts: cash received from services offered by the farm such as hiring out a tractor
to another farmer who pay for the service.
c. debtor and creditors
➢ Debtors are borrowers. People who owe the farm money e.g. people may collect farm
produce and promise to pay back later.
➢ Creditors are people or companies owed money by the farmer e.g. the farm may obtain
inputs and promise to pay back later

31 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

 d. profit or loss
➢ Also known as trading account. This differs form the cash book because it allows
opening and closing of valuation. Depreciation must also be included.
Example: profit and loss account of Mr Chirwa
Sales and receipts Amounts(mk) Purchase and Amount (mk)
expenses
Maize sales 5000 Opening valuation 2000
Soya sales 2000 Chemicals 1500
Potato sales 1000 Labour 3000
Closing valuation 3000 depreciation 1200
Total income 11 000 Total expenditure 7700
profit 3300

e. statement of assets and liability(balance sheet)

Examples of financials records
i. Cash book

Sales and receipts Expenditure and expenses

date detail Amount(MK) date detail amount
1/2/14 Balance b/f 4000 2/2/14 Bought 3 K3600
bags layer
mash
10/2/14 Sold 2 bags 5 000 11/2/14 Bought 5 4800
of maize bags of
fertilizer
15/2/14 Sold 20 trays 4800 29/2/14 Bought 2400
of eggs hoes
22/2/14 Sold carrots 1200 23/2/14 Bought 6000
broiler
finisher
mash
25/2/14 Sold broilers 10000 27/2/14 Bought 4000
actellic
28/2/14 Sold green 8000 28/2/14 Bought 2000
maize poultry
vaccine
27/2/14 Sold milk 12000 28/2/14 Bought 3000
dewormer
28/2/14 Balance 19 200
carries
down
Total 46 000 45 000
28/2/14 Balance 19 200
brought
down

32 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

ii. Balance sheet
➢ Balance sheet is a statement of all the first assets and liabilities of a business at a specific
time usually taken on the last day of the financial year to show net worth or net capital of
the farm. This account shows the value of all assets including cash and the value of
liabilities e.g. loan and items delivered but not paid for.
➢ When assets exceed or equal to liabilities the farm is insolvent or bankrupt
Example of balance sheet for Mr Chirwa

liabilities Amount (MK) assets Amount

(MK)
Bank loan 12000 Cash in hand 30000
Debt payable 5000 Cash in bank 4000
Tax payable 50000 Land value 3500
Value of fertilizer 2500
Value of barns 7000
Net capital (net K67 000 Value of farm equipment’s 47000
worth)
The farm is bankrupt because total liabilities exceeds total assets
REASONS FOR KEEPING FARM RECORD

• Help in planning and budgeting. this will enable a farmer to make appropriate choices
and decisions in the farm/
• Provide history of what has been happening on the farm. It can be used for comparison
• It is required by financial institution before any loan can be approved to determine the
need and capacity of the farmer to repay the loan as well as to determine whether the
farmer can benefits from the credit if advanced.
• Adequate farm records avoid being overtaxed because tax will be based on only on the
actual farm profits.
• Determine the financial status of the farm to know whether is credit worthy or not
• Help in proper management of various routine livestock or crop production practices
e.g. dates of calving, vaccination, harvesting
• A comparison of the relative profitability of different crops and livestock enterprises
will suggests which enterprises should be expanded and which one should be reduced or
even eliminated to increase farm profits
• For comparison purposes between farmers dealing with the same enterprises. This helps
to discover the cause for the difference
• They help the farmer when to breed animals
• Help the farmer to calculate on how tax to pay

UNIT 5 BUDGETING
➢ Budget is an estimate of expected costs and returns of business or enterprise
➢ Farm plan is required for one to prepare a budget
Definitions of farm budgeting

• The physical aspects of farm planning when expressed in monetary terms

Types of farm budgets
➢ There are three types of budgets and these are
• Partial budget

33 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

 • Break-even budget
• Complete budget
a. Partial budget
➢ Partial refers to estimating the return for a part of business i.e one or few activities for
example
• To estimate additional costs and returns from growing one hectare of hybrid maize in
place of local maize
• To estimate additional cost and returns by adopting foliar application of chemical
fertilizers instead of soil application.
Four important questions when preparing partial budget

• What extra cost is to be incurred?

• What present/existing income or revenue is to be forgone or given up?
• What present costs will no longer be incurred?
• What extra income is to be earned
Components of a partial budget
1. Increase in income (extra income)
2. Reduction or elimination of costs (saved costs)
3. Increased in costs (extra costs)
4. Income forgone (opportunity cost)
➢ A positive net change indicates that farm income will increase due to change and farmer
can change the enterprises since it is profitable, while
➢ A negative net indicates the change will reduce the farm income so a farmer should not
just maintain the original enterprise
➢ Partial budget has two columns and see the examples of partial budget below
Examples of partial budget

Mr Phillip chirwa has two hectares of land on which he grows NSCM41. He however wants to make
the following changes.

• To apply 4 bags of urea instead of 6 bags per hectare at k1 300 per bag
• To sell 50 bags of maize at k1000 per bag to chibuku products limited instead of k850 per
bag to ADMARC
• To store maize in 50 sack at k30 each instead of storing it in the nkhokwe
• To spend k500 instead of k300 on actellic
• To spend k600/ha instead of k300/ha on casual labour
a. Prepare a partial budget for Mr Chirwa
Cost/loss Gain/income
1.Extra cost 3.extra income
• 4 bags of urea @ k1300=8×k10, 400 • 40 bags of maize at
• Actellic @ k500 K1000=K40,000
• Casual labour =K600×2=K1200
• 50sacks@k30each=k1500
Subtotal=k13, 600 Subtotal =k40,000
2Opportunity cost 4.saved cost
• 40 bags of maize @ k850=k34, 000 • 6 bags of urea @
k1300/bag=6×2×1300=k15,600
• Casual labour @ K 3000×2=K600
• Actellic=k300
• Nkhokwe =nill
Total cost=k47,600 Total income=k56,000

34 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

 b. Should Mr Chirwa go ahead with his plans? Explain your answer.
= should change because total incomes outweighs the total cost and this means the change is
profitable or the net change is positive so the farmer can change the enterprise since it is
profitable
Sections of partial budget

• Has three main sections

1. Costs
2. Benefits
3. Analysis
➢ If the total costs outweigh total benefits which mean the change is not worthwhile or
profitable hence the farmer should just maintain the original enterprise.
➢ But if the benefits exceed costs, then the change is profitable
Format for partial budget
PROBLEM(PROPOSED CHANGE)
Section 1 costs(extra cost) Section 2 benefits
A .additional costs(these will be the costs C additional returns ( these will be the
incurred as a result of growing a new returns received as a results of growing a
commodity or using a new practice) new commodity or using new practice)
Sub-total Sub-total
B reduced return(opportunity cost) (these D reduced costs ( these will be the costs
will be the returns that are given up as a that will no longer be incurred as a
result of no longer producing the current result of giving up the current
commodity being grown or practice being commodity or practice for a new one)
used)
Total cost (A+B) Total Benefits (C+D)
Section 3: analysis
Net change in profits (Total benefits-Total costs)
Benefits Costs (total benefits÷ total costs)
USES OF PARTIAL BUDGET

• Introduce a new enterprise without necessarily changing other enterprises

• Change one enterprise for another-sometimes referred as substitution
• Expand the existing enterprises or make additions to existing enterprises e.g. increased
the area for crops or livestock herd for beef, dairy, broiler, egg production, sheep, goats
• Buy new farm machinery or equipment
• Adopt a change in method of production, for example, introducing a milking machine
instead of hand milking.
• Participating in government program
Limitation of partial budgeting

• it is restricted to evaluating only two alternatives

• The results obtained from partial budget are only estimates and are only good as the
original data is entered. If you enter in accurate information in the budget, you receive
inaccurate information.
• does not account for value of money now and in future
• Only provides an estimate of the profitability of an alternative relative to current
operations but does not provide estimate of the absolute profitability of business.
• Costs and returns that are not affected by the intended change are not included
c. Break-even budget

35 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

➢ Break-even level or break-even point represents the sales amount in either unit or revenue
terms-that is required to cover total costs(both fixed and variable cost)
➢ The total profits at breakeven point is zero

➢ Break-even point occurs when revenues equals costs. This is this is the point at which all
the enterprise’s costs have been covered by earned revenues.

Types of breakeven point

a. Break even based on sales: this happens to valued-added enterprise that is selling
produce, or other proceeded foods, products in large quantities
b. Break even based on units: a value added enterprise that sells defined units of
products, such as limited number of cattle, goats or sheep.
➢ In any farming business, the break-even point is not affixed number. The value
changes as farming business moves forwards with its operations, gains, experience and
better understanding of both its profits potential and operating expenses.
• Break even yield: this is the yield needed to cover the costs given the expected price,
enterprise income and other income such as in kind payments
• Breakeven price: this is the price needed to cover the costs given the expected yield
and income.
𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑡𝑠
𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑦𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑 =
𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑝𝑢𝑡 𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑒

𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑡𝑠
𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑒(𝐵. 𝐸. 𝑃) =
𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑦𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑

➢ Break-even is only possible if firm’s prices are higher that its variable costs per unit
➢ In economics, business and cost accounting, the breakeven point is the point at which
total cost and total revenue are equal. There is no net loss or gain and one has broken
even i.e. both sides of the equation of the equation are the same.
➢ If it not possible to break even yet the farmer wants to embark on the business, then
he/she can do the following.
1. Try to reduce the fixed costs (by negotiating land rental for example or keeping better
control of telephone bills or other costs)
2. Try to reduce variable costs through inputs substitution-adopting organic farming)

36 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

3. Increase the selling price of maize. This can be achieved through selling of maize in times
of scarcity.
➢ The aim these three points highlighted above is to reduce break-even and increase
profits.
Purpose of break-even budget

• The main purpose is to determine minimum output that must be exceeded in order to
make profit.
• It also serve as a rough indicator of earnings(income) impact of marketing activity
• It provides a dynamic view of the relationship between sales, costs and profits.
• It also gives a manager a chance to understand when to expect to break even ( by linking
the percent to when in the week/month this percent sales might occur)
a. Complete budget
➢ Also known as whole farm budget
➢ Looks into every detail of the farm
➢ It includes both fixed and variable costs
➢ Prepared when farmer wants to start a farming system business
Complete budget is prepared when
a. A farm is prepared for a new farm
b. When drastic changes are suggested in the plan of the existing pattern on established
farm.
• It can be prepared for short run (annual budget and for long run. Example of a complete
maize cassava tea Rice
Yield(kg/ha) 400 450 800 2000
Price(k/kg) 200 50 200 25
Gross income (mk) K80 000 22 500 160 000 50 000
Variable costs (MK)
Seeds and fuel 1000 500 800 500
Fertilizer and transport 8 000 10000 20 000
Pesticides 5 000 150 1000
Casual labour 100 150 200 80
Total variable costs (TVC) 14 100 800 12 000 20 580
Gross margin/ha 65 900 21 700 148 000 29 420
Fixed costs for all the four enterprises(maize, cassava, tea and rice) MK
Regular/permanent 20 000 20 000 20 000 20 000
Rental and fuel 5 000 5 000 5 000 5 000
Depreciation 250 250 250 250
Maintenance & repair 3000 3000 3000 3000
Land tax 3000 3000 3000 3000
Loan tax 2000 2000 2000 2000
Administration & office 1000 1000 1000 1000
expenses
General overheads like 8000 8000 8000
licences and car expenses
Total fixed costs K42 250 K42 250 K42 250 K42 250
Study the table above thoroughly and answer questions that follow.
1. Find the two crop enterprises that have the highest gross margin (GM)
i. Which crop would advise the farmer to grow the crop you mentioned in 1 above?
ii. Why would you advise a farmer to grow the crop you have mentioned in i above?
2. Which crop would be the worst for the farmer to grow?

37 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

3. Calculate the whole farm gross margin.
4. Work out the whole farm profit.
• Gross margin= the difference between gross income and variable costs
• Profit=the difference between gross margin and fixed costs
Table 11 difference between complete budget and partial budget

Complete budgeting Partial budgeting

1 The whole farm is considered as one 1 It is adopted when the minor aspect of
unit farm organisation is touched
2 All the aspects like crops, livestock, 2 It is practiced within the existing
machinery and other assets are resources structure of the farm
considered
3 Both fixed and variable costs are 3 Only variable costs are considered
calculated for working costs and
returns
4 Net income is estimated by deleting 4 Net income is estimated by deleting only
fixed costs and costs of variable inputs costs of variable inputs from the value
from the value of the product of the product
5 It requires more efforts and time 5 It requires relatively less efforts and time
preparation and time for preparation
Steps involved in complete budgeting
1. A farmer should decide on what to produce based on farmer’s skills
2. Estimate inputs requirements
3. Make an estimate of the expected yield
4. Make an estimate of prices for the yield
5. Estimate fixed costs of buildings, machinery depreciation
6. Calculate total cost
7. Calculate total revenue
8. Calculate net revenue

UNIT 6 FARM BUSINESS DECISION MAKING

➢ The idea of decision making on farm is to enable the farm maximise profits. Therefore
farmers have to make the right decisions at all times so that even when it is difficult for
most farmers to prosper and stand out and make profits.
Examples of farm decision

• what to produce
• how to produce
• how much to produce
• when to produce
• where to buy and sell
ECONOMIC PRINCIPLES IN FARM BUSINESS DECISION-MAKING
a. opportunity cost
b. comparative advantage
c. substitution of inputs
d. diminishing marginal returns

38 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

1. opportunity cost
➢ This is the value of forgone alternative. When a farmer decides to produce maize instead
of groundnuts, the difference in value between groundnuts and maize is forgone
alternative and therefore an opportunity cost.
Importance of opportunity cost

•Evaluating options: this helps to assess the options before making the final decision.
•Choosing wisely: by considering of an action, the farmer is guided to make rational
choice.
• Efficient use of scarce resources like land , capital and labour
• Maximising satisfaction: the farmer should select alternatives that give highest
returns.
2. Comparative advantage
➢ Farmers must concentrate and take advantage of enterprise which bests suits the
environmental conditions of their area.
➢ For example, farmers in Tsangano have comparative advantage over the farmers in hot
areas of Malawi in production of Irish potatoes
➢ Comparative advantage also works where the farmer has skill for particular enterprises.
As a result farmers are advised to choose the enterprise which they are able to handle due
to skill or those enterprises which best suits their environment.
Advantage of the principle of comparative advantage

• It encourages farmers in each area to select at least one product that suited to their
area and concentrate on and offer it to the market, trading, nationality or
internationally.
3. Substitution of inputs
➢ Substitution means replacement of resources
➢ The principle of substitution of inputs states that it is beneficial for a farmer to substitute
an input, resources, technology for another if it is
• Reduces costs but produces the same level of yield
• Has the same cost but increases yield.
Examples of input substitution include the following

• Weeding by hoeing out the weeds or spraying herbicides

• Feeding layers on a commercial ration or a home mix
Importance of the principle of substitution of inputs

• Guides the farmer in choosing the cheaper or profitable inputs, resources or technology
of production
• Helps the farmer answer the farm management questions on how to produce.

39 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

4. Diminishing marginal returns
➢ The states that an increase in one input (with everything remaining constant), will
increase output, but after a point, the extra output resulting from the additional inputs,
will become less.
➢ The law is clearly advising the farmers to decide on the right amount of inputs for every
enterprise because too much inputs is dangerous
• Diminishing: means declining or getting reduced
• Marginal means additional or incremental
• Return means output or yield
Table showing the relationship between level of inputs (fertiliser) and its corresponding
yields
amount ofseeds(kg/ha) marginal yields(kg/ha) stage of marginal returns
0 0 increasing marginal returns
1 11
2 20
3 22
4 19 diminishing marginal
5 13 returns
6 7
7 -1 negative marginal returns
8 -8
25

20
marginal yield(kg/ha)

15

10

Series2
5

0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
-5

-10
amount of seed(kg/kg)

The stages of the law of diminishing marginal returns

1. Stage of increasing marginal returns
➢ The additional input causes the marginal output rises. In this level output is performing
wonderfully due to availability of other productive resources.
2. Stages of diminishing marginal returns
➢ In this stage, the additional input causes the marginal output to lessen because of
competition between production resources resulting in reduction of the marginal yield.
3. Stage of negative returns
➢ This stage stat when the additional output becomes too excessive compared to fixed
resources causing the marginal output to be negative.

40 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

Importance of the principle of diminishing marginal returns in decision
➢ Helps the farmer to;
• Understand the relationship between level of inputs and level and production so that
the farmer can decide on the best level of inputs to use for optimum production
• Identify the point(stage) when diminishing returns set-in
• Deal with increasing marginal costs that would otherwise arise from increasing levels
of inputs
• Avoid waste of farming resources (that would even result in negative returns)
• Understanding that there is a point or stage where benefits of doing something will
slowly diminish
• Understanding that spending and investing more and more in a product where other
factors remain the same mean that the returns will eventually begin to diminishing in
long run

UNIT 7 ENTERPRISE COMBINATIONS

➢ A farm enterprise: is a single type of crop or livestock that produce a marketable
products or commodity.
Some examples of farm enterprise in Malawi
• Goat farming
• Broiler production
• Sheep production
• Dairy farming
• Maize production
• Groundnut farming
• Tomato farming
• Cabbage farming
• Cassava farming
• Sugarcane farming
➢ A farmer can decide to have two or more enterprises. Such combinations of farm
enterprises can be made up of ;
i. Crop enterprises only
ii. Livestock enterprise only
iii. Crop and livestock enterprises
➢ The enterprise can be combined because of their capacity to benefits each other or benefit
the farmer.
Factors to consider when combining enterprises
a. Profitability of an enterprise: farmers choose those enterprises whose total profit can be
significantly high.
b. The farmers’ food requirement; food is a priority hence resources should be spared for
food crops before thinking of cash crops. An adult per year consumes 300kg of maize
while a young person under the age of 18 consumes 150kgs.
c. Resource availability: these include
• Land: is scarce due to increase in population. This determines the type of enterprise to
venture into and how many enterprises to combine due to the nature of the soil(slope and
type of soil0
• Labour: this is the amount of work done by human and this limits the size of enterprise
due to increase in labour demand for some months on some crops. So farmers have to
make a labour profiles showing how labour is distributed during production period.
➢ Labour is estimated in man-days. A adult male supplies 25 man days per month, an adult
female supplies 16.7man days while child supplies 7.5 man days

41 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

• Capital: refers to both live and dead stock on the farm used for production and the
money needed to run the farm. It is always scarce so farmers have to use it economically.
• Management: this is the inherent skills the farmer has in decision making and farmers
have to make sound decisions on what most economical enterprise to combine and how
well resources can be put into use.
d. Nature of enterprises. Enterprises fall into three major types
• Competitive enterprise: those competing on production resources
• Supplementary enterprises: one is the main while the other one is just an additional
one
• Complementary enterprise: those enterprises help each other.
e. Opportunity cost: the farmers should select the best enterprise in order to make a lot of
profits.
f. Comparative advantage: this principle urges farmers to concentrate on those enterprises
which perform well in their areas. This ensure high productivity and profit maximisation
g. Risks and uncertainties: risk is the difference between what you expect and the outcome
while uncertainty is a state of imperfect knowledge. Tobacco for example is a high
risking crop due to price instability on the market. While drought, hall and pest and
diseases outbreak are examples of uncertainties. A risk is predicted and ensured while
uncertainty cannot be predicted and ensured.
Ways of safeguarding against risk and uncertainty

• diversification: .venturing into different enterprises with hope that not all will fail
• choosing enterprise that are of low risk
• buying an insurance cover so that when the enterprises fails beyond farmer’s control,
the insurance company can compensate
• input substitution: farmers should not invest a lot into input rather should replace the
expensive ones which less expensive one like organic manure this helps to reduce
production cost.
• Flexibility in the methods of production: farmers are advised to use capital items which
can easily be turned for different enterprises.
h. Farmer’s ability: this has to do with the skills the farmers have in managing an
enterprises.
Types of enterprise combinations
There are three;
1. Competitive enterprise: compete for scarce resources like labour, land and capital. An
increase in one causes a decline in the other. For example a farmer has 4 hectares of land
and wants to combine maize and forestry; it means it means if he decides to increase
maize enterprise, he must reduce land for forestry.
2. Supplementary enterprise: one enterprise is the main while the other one is just an
additional one. For example maize grown together with beans, beans supports maize with
nitrogen which it fixes while maize provides beans with support. The farmer has not to
reduce the size of maize enterprise in Oder to expand the bean enterprise.
3. Complementary enterprises: these are enterprise which is combined to assist one
another. Examples maize and climbing beans and another example can be duck and fish
rose in a pond. Ducks provides manure to the pond while fish can be fed to ducks.

42 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

UNIT 8 AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVES
➢ Agricultural cooperatives is a group of farmers who come together on voluntary basis for
purpose of achieving a common goal for mutual economic benefits
Importance of agricultural cooperatives

• Produce or markets goods cheaply because they share the resources and expertise
• Secure loan from commercial banks because a group serve as a security
• Buy inputs cheaply since they buy in bulk and at wholesale price
• Benefits from economies of scale i.e. it is cheaper to produce a unit of commodity if it is
mass produced
• Easily transport produce to market
• Bargain for better prices or selling conditions as a group
• Share storage and processing facilities
• They quickly adopt innovation by sharing expertise and knowledge
Principles for formation of agricultural cooperatives

• Should be legally constituted with guiding rules and regulation

• Participation is free, people are free to join or withdraw
• Should be impartial, non-partisan and non-religious
• Must be efficient and effectively organised
• Must be open to all farmers who share a common interest
• Should have enough capital/funds
• Organised and run according to democratic principles(one person, one vote)
• Must continually educate its members to improve their productivity and marketing skills
• Members managing the funds are skilled, trustworthy and highly motivated
• All members are committed to the cooperative and its success
• Should have adequate infrastructure (staff houses, offices, and storage facilities),
personnel, transport, equipment and supplies.
• Should join from the local to the national level
• It must follow legal procedures of forming and registering a cooperative as follows;
a. Minimum number of eligible persons t from cooperative being ten
b. Elect an interim committee
c. Draft the cooperative’s rules and by-laws (constitution)
d. Articulate the objectives of the cooperative
e. Suggest a name for the cooperative
f. Apply for registration to the relevant agricultural authorities

Types of farmers’ cooperative

• Farm production cooperatives

• Marketing cooperatives
• Consumer cooperatives: a cooperative which buys inputs in bulk and sell to its
members at subsidised price
• Savings and credit cooperatives (SACCO)

43 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

Challenges of running agricultural cooperatives

a. Lack of loyalty to the cooperative. this occurs when members fails to abide by their own
rules and regulations on issues of repayment of loans and this brings quarrels and
divisions within the cooperative
b. Misuse of fund by executive members: this is a serious issue because members of the
executive need to be trustworthy.
c. Lack of sound economic base of the cooperative which makes it impossible for
members to obtain loans and other benefits
d. Lack of knowledge about the rights and obligations of members and they get
frustrated when they don’t get what they think are their entitlements.
➢ Solutions to the challenges faced in running agricultural cooperatives
a. Lack of loyalty to the cooperative can be solved through advocacy. Members must
believe that the cooperative is their own and they cannot afford to see it fails since its
failure is their failure.
b. Misuse of funds by executive members. This can checked through putting in place
mechanisms of transparency. Members should be able to monitor what s going on in
the cooperative.
c. Lack of sound economic base can be solved through ensuring that members meet
their subscriptions and high financial prudence by executive.
d. Lack of knowledge about rights and obligation of the members and this can be
solved through orientation on their right and their roles.

UNIT 9 VEGETATIVE PLANTING MATERIALS

➢ There are many crops which cannot be raised using true seeds. However, these crops must
also multiply so that they do not become extinct.
➢ Vegetative propagation: this is the production of new plants by using parts or part of an
existing plant, without the use of the seeds.
➢ Also called asexual propagation
Vegetative planting material Name of crop(s) planted by the vegetative
used planting material
Stems Sugar cane, cassava
Leaves Cactus and flowers
Suckers Banana
Tubers Irish potato
Bulbs Onion
Corms Cocoyam
Rhizomes Star grass
runners Sweet potato, straw berry, star grass
Labelling parts of vegetative planting materials
a. Stem cutting
➢ Are pieces of stem that have buds at each node and that developed adventitious roots.
These stems are used for field planting.
➢ Plants that can be propagated by stems include: sugarcane, Napier (elephant grass or
Nsenjere) and cassava.
Procedure for propagating by stems

• Select the freshest uppermost parts

• Cut them into length of about 15-30cm using panga knife
• Each stem should have three nodes( research has shown that stems with three nodes has
higher germination percentage than those having more or less nodes)

44 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

 It is better to use three-node cuttings than single-node cutting in order to obtain.
i. High germination capacity
ii. High initial plant vigour of the germinated shoots
iii. High sugarcane yield
b.Runner
➢A stem which grows horizontally above the ground
➢The stem must have the anode where buds are formed
➢The buds grow into a new plant
➢Crops strawberries, sweet potatoes and pastures such Henderson star grass can be
propagated in this way.
c. Stem tubers
➢ Is an underground swollen portion of the stem
➢ The tuber acts as a food storage organ. Irish potato (European potato) is a tem tuber.
d. Suckers
➢ A sucker is a shoot (or tiller) arising from an auxiary bud at the base of a parent plant.
➢ Suckers are cut off or uprooted and planted elsewhere e.g banana suckers
e. Bulbs
➢ A bulb is the storage organ of vegetative planting material for crops such as onions,
tulips and garlic
➢ The leaves contain lots of stored food.
f. Corms
➢ A corm is a thickened base of underground stem in which food is stored
g. Rhizomes
➢ Is thick horizontal underground stem.
➢ New shoots and roots grow from the buds on the rhizome. Ginger, bamboo and even
banana can be propagated using rhizome.
h. Leaves
• Crops like begonias and African violet are examples
i. Branches(layering)
a. Air layering
• A branch is plant wounded and the wound is covered with soil,
• the branch will usually develop roots
• While it is attached to the parent plant.
• It is then cut off from the parent and grown as a new plant.
b. Ground layering
• A branch of tree is pegged down to the ground so that it can develop roots new
shoot while it is still attached to the plant

45 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

46 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)
Methods used in vegetative propagation
i. Budding
➢ This is the union of a bud with a root stock
➢ The bud is taken from a high yieidn tree of good quality
➢ The stock must be hardy and strong
Procedure

•
A bud is sliced off from a mature branch of a desired tree
•
A T-shaped cut is made on the root stock at a height of about 45cm
•
The bud is inserted into the T-shaped cut to unite the cambium of the root stock
and he bud
• The union is bound with a tape
ii. Layering
➢ This involves induction of the plant to produce roots and shoots on their stem while
still attached to the main plant.
Procedure

• Bending and pegging the braches of a tree or shoots down to be ground

• The pegged point is covered up with rich humus soil while the end of the shoots is
allowed to remain above the ground level
• Contact with the soil in this way causes the branches to develop roots at the point
and eventually a new plant become established e.g. cocoa
• The stem is then cut used for further propagation
iii. Grafting
➢ It is the practice of joining two stems for continued growth as one plant. The part at
which the plant parts join is called the union.
➢ The two parts that are joined are called the root stock and the scion
➢ The scion is the upper part of the union
➢ The root stock is the lower part of the union which is the part of the rooting system

47 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

 Procedure

• Cut each plant in a slant or V-shape to provide large surface area for contact
• The plants should be of the same age and size so that the cambia surface are may be
brought closely together
• Join the scion and the root stock
• Bind the union with a grafting wax to prevent entrance of the bacteria

Advantages of vegetative planting material

• Vegetative planting materials are readily available to farmers from the previous crops
• Vegetative planning materials have enough food reserves that can be used to sustain
growth of the new plant. This increases survival rate of the new plants.
• It ensures genetic uniformity as much the offspring resembles the parents.
• Reduces dormancy as it is the case with some seeds such as tomatoes which be dried first
before they can germinate.
• They provide the only way of propagating crops whose seeds do not germinate or do not
breed true.
• Plants propagated by this method grow faster and matures earlier than those established
using seeds. This is because large amount of food reserves the vegetative planting
materials have.
Disadvantages of vegetative planting materials

• They cannot be stored over a long period as is the case with seeds because they can wilt
and eventually die
• They are usually bulky and therefore difficult to transport over a long distance.

48 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

• They need to be handled with care using transportation otherwise the growing points can
easily be destroyed.
• There is a very high risk of transferring diseases from parents’ plants to the plants.
• It is difficult to introduce variation into the crops. As a result crop improvement becomes
difficult.

UNIT 10 CROPPING SYSTEM

➢ Cropping system refers to pattern, techniques, procedures followed in the cultivation
and production of plants
➢ Cropping system practiced by farmers include
a. Monoculture
b. Monocropping
c. Continuous cropping
d. Mixed cropping
e. Crop rotation
f. Bush fallowing
g. Shifting cultivation
h. Organic farming
i. Agroforestry
1. Monoculture
➢ Different crop are grown on a farm occupying separate plot each.
➢ Pure stand: is plot which carries only one crop at a time.
Advantages

• Mechanization is easy
• Eliminates competition from other crops
• Easy to use chemicals in pure stands (pesticides, fertilisers or herbicides)
Disadvantages

•
There is less total yield per unit area as compared to mixed cropping
•
Pest and diseases can spread more rapidly because there is no traps plants in the
field
2. Monocropping
➢ The farmer solely grow one crop on the farm and nothing else. While in monoculture
a farmer can grow several crops but on pure stand.
Advantages

• It reduces the start-up capital because the farmer invest in one crop
• The farmers specialise in the management of the crop and as a result, it becomes very
easy to perform the operations with precision.
• Crops productivity increases due specialisation because the farmers knows what to
do and when
• A farmer makes a lot of profit since s/he enjoys economies of scale because it is
associated with large scale farming.
• It is easy to mechanise since the entire farm has one crop
Disadvantages

• Pest and diseases spread very fast because the susceptible host is always available.
• There is much higher risk of total crop failure because farmers grow only one crop.

49 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

 • If the farmer grows, non-cover crop, the soil is subject to erosion.
• There is rapid exhaustion of land because the crop uses nutrients from the same soil
horizon.
3. Continuous cropping
➢ This is a system of growing crops on a piece of land every year without fallowing.
Most farmers practice this because they do not have large land holding for fallowing.
Advantages

• Ensures 100% utilisation of the land

• Conserves the soil since the land is under cover throughout the year
• Ensure food security or cash for the farmers from the crops harvested from all
parts of the farm each year
Disadvantages

• Exhaust soil fertility since nutrient s are removed by crop each year
• Results in over-cultivation or cropping which destroys soil structure
• Results in multiplication of pests and diseases and some parasitic weeds
4. Mixed cropping
➢ This means growing different crops on the same plot during the same growing
season. It is also called Polyculture, Multicultre, Interplanting, and Intercropping.
This system maximises land use.
Forms of mixed cropping
a. Mixed intercropping
➢ Crops are mixed without any pattern in the field. Examples are crops grown by
broadcasting.
b. Row intercropping
i. Intra-row cropping
➢ Two crops are grown on the same row (ridge) and crops may be sown on the same
station or different. Examples are maize and beans.
ii. Inter-row cropping
➢ One crop is grown between the rows of another crop. In other words crops are grown
on alternate rows or ridges.
c. Relay cropping
➢ A second crop is sown on the plot while the second one is still growing or even
maturing. This is also known as phase planting. Cassava can be planted in maize. This
is common for maize and beans. The practise is successful where rainy season is longer
than required by the first crop.
Advantages

• Saves labour since all operations are done once for all crops
• Saves land since it is used for more than one crop
• Increase total yield per hectare
• Reduces the risk of crop failure since the farmers rely on others crops if one fails
• Enables crops to benefit from one another (beans fix nitrogen which is use by crop
while maize acts a stake for climbing beans)
• Reduces the spread of pest and diseases
• The mixture of the crops provides adequate soil cover to reduce soil erosion and weed
growth.

50 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

Disadvantages

• Mechanisation is difficult since each crop has specific needs in terms of operations like
ploughing and ridging
• Requires large starting capital to get different machines and farm structures for the
different crops
• It is difficult to use pesticides, fertilisers or herbicides since used chemicals used on
one crop may be harmful to another.
• Requires a wide range of knowledge and skills to manage different crops
• Different crops shade one another reducing the rate of photosynthesis.
5. Crop rotation
➢ This is the practise of growing different crops(changing crops) on piece of land in
particular sequence (order) every year.
➢ The farmer decides on the crops to grow, depending on
▪ Climate
▪ Soil type
▪ Amount of land
▪ Capital
▪ Labour
▪ Managerial ability
➢ The length of rotation depends on the crops to be grown, for example six year rotation a
farmer should divide the land into six equal plots. Each crop return to its original plot
after six years..
Example of crop rotation sequence
Year PLOTS
1 Maize Cassava Cotton G/beans Millet G/nuts
2 Cassava Cotton G/beans Millet G/nuts Maize
3 Cotton G/beans Millet G/nuts Maize Cassava
4 G/beans Millet G/nuts Maize Cassava Cotton
5 Millet G/nuts Maize Cassava Cotton G/beans
6 G/nuts Maize Cassava Cotton G/beans Millet
Some of the principles farmers follow in allocating crops to plots are

• Alternating tap (deep) rooted crops with fibrous (shallow) rooted crops.
• Alternating leguminous crops (beans, groundnuts, peas) with non-leguminous
(cereals, cotton, tobacco).
• Alternating heavy feeders(soil exhausting crops ) with light feeders
• Alternating crops that are resistant to specific diseases with susceptible crops to
those diseases.
• Alternating crops with good soil cover with those having little soil cover.
Advantages

• Ensures that plants make full use of nutrient s from different layers in the soil
• Maintains or improves soil fertility if legumes included in rotation
• Controlling pest and diseases by breaking their life cycle
• Controls parasitic weeds which are host specific by depriving them of their host on
the plot in some years (witch weed associated with cereals)
• Reduces soil erosion when cover crops are included in the rotation to cover and
protect the soil against raindrops impact and run-off
• Ensures even distribution of labour demand throughout the year so that serious
labour peak months may not occur.
• Spread financial risks over several crops.

51 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

Disadvantages

• Results in less farm income compared to monoculture (since some crops in the
rotation may have low commercial value).
• Requires more land to accommodate the various crops
• Requires more labour since some crops in rotation needs more labour
• Requires skills in management of various crops which the farmers may not have.
• May not be practical where the farmer needs to use over 90% of land for staple food
crop each year to meet family food requirements
6. Bush fallowing
➢ Also called land rotation
➢ Means farming a plot, temporarily leaving it when exhausted to regain fertility, then
returning to it later.
➢ The fallow period may be five to ten years.
Advantages

• Cheap, does not need a lot of capital from fertilizers

• Maintains soil fertility thought land fallow fertility
Disadvantages

• Encourages deforestation
• Increases soil erosion because land is left bare
• Requires a lot of land
7. Shifting cultivation
➢ Land is cultivated for several years until yield become low due to soil exhaustion,
and then it is abandoned for another one.
➢ No fertilizers are applied
➢ Nutrients are added in the form of ash (potassium and calcium) after burning.

Advantages

• Cheap, does not require fertilizer

• Simple, it uses hand tools
• Controls pests and weed seeds through burning

52 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

 Disadvantages

• Requires more land

• Low yields due to fertilizers application
• Burning destroys organic matter and soil nutrients
• May lead to soil erosion due to deforestation
8. Organic Farming
➢ Also called biological/ecological farming
➢ It is the cropping system where crops are grown using organic inputs such as
manure (organic fertilizer) rather than inorganic inputs like commercial fertilizers.
➢ Pest and diseases are controlled physically, culturally and biologically instead of
chemically.
Advantages

• Prevents pollution of water reservoirs

• Protects useful insects(pollinators and predators of pests)
• Improves soil structure through organic manures
• Cheaper to make and apply organic manures
• Reduces chances of poisoning people
• Environmentally friendly
Disadvantages

• Organic inputs are usually slower than inorganic inputs

• Organic inputs may be readily available for large farms
9. Agroforestry
➢ This is a cropping system in which agronomic crops are grown in association with
forest trees.
➢ Trees are planted such that they leave a strip of land where agronomical crops are
grown.
➢ They are usually planted either to the east-west directions so that sunlight can still
reach the field crops.
➢ Most of these plants are leguminous trees used as livestock feeds such as leucamia,
sesbania sesban(locally known as jerere) and
Forms of Agroforestry
j. Agrosilviculture
➢ Agro means fields crop, while silviculture means growing trees and shrubs
➢ Agrosilviculture is the practice of growing of fields’ crops and trees, shrubs together
on the same piece of land.
➢ It involves planting rows of field crops to be followed by rows of trees. The spacing
of the rows should be large enough to allow the crops access the sunlight.
k. Silvopastoral
➢ Trees are grown in association with pasture.
➢ The word is derived from silviculture and pastoral. Pastoral means rearing animals.
Farmers can grow forests trees or fruits trees with pasture.
➢ 8-20 meters space for trees before the next strip of pasture can be enough.
l. Agrosilvilvopastroral
➢ Agronomic crops, pasture, trees or shrubs are grown together
Advantages of Agroforestry

• The farmer has a large source income base because apart from agronomic crops the
farmer can sell poles. Fuel wood, timber.

53 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

 • The farmers maximises the use of land resources. Since trees are deep rooted, they
get their nutrients from deep horizon and bring them to the surface as the leaves fall
and decompose.
• Helps to improve fertility through nitrogen fixation by legumes.
• Helps to control soil erosion. The roots open up soil their by encouraging water
infiltration while at the same time their foliage intercepts rain drops before falling to
the ground. In turn they help to conserve water
• The trees protect the crops from strong wind
• Legumes trees such as leucaena and sesbania sesban are good animal feed.
Disadvantages

• Agronomical crops may not produce high yield because of shading from trees.
• It cannot be practiced be practiced where land is scarce to carter for both trees and
the fields crops
• There is high labour demand as the trees may need regular pruning to ensure that
there is limited shade in the field of crops.
Cropping systems which can promote crop yields
➢ Examples are; crop rotation, mixed cropping, monocropping, monoculture and crop
rotation. These give yields due to;
• Use of improved technologies such as use of inorganic fertiliser, pesticides, herbicides
which promotes fast growth of crops
• The systems like monocropping produces high yields because farmers grow only the
most suitable crop for the environment exploiting the principle of comparative
advantage
• Specialisation which occurs in system like monocropping and monoculture enables
farmers to become experts in their crop
• Control of soil erosion, pests and diseases by mixed cropping and crop rotation
increases yields
• Maintenance of soil fertility by crop rotation and mixed cropping increases crop yields
Cropping systems which do not promote high crop yields

• Farmers use low levels of technology e.g. hand tools and do not apply fertilizer
• The land is cultivated until land is exhausted leading to low yields

UNIT 11 MUSHROOM PRODUCTIONS

Introduction
Mushroom provides supplementary food and is a common delicacy during the rainy season in
Malawi. Not all mushrooms are edible. Examples of wild edible mushrooms: Nyozwe,
Chifwiwi, utale. Utale is the most liked one and it is white and medium size. Apart from
being wild and forest product, mushrooms can be grown and become a viable faming
business.
Mushrooms are the fruiting bodies of a certain class of fungi called basidiomycetes. These
are the most common type of fungi during rainy season.
Some characteristics of fungi

• They have no chlorophyll and hence cannot produce their own food like other plants
• They depend on other organism for food, absorbing nutrients from the organic material
in which they live, i.e. obtain nutrients by absorption

54 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

 • Reproduce through spores or by budding. The living body of the fungi are the mycelium
which is made of thread-like filaments called hyphae.
Fungus ecology
➢ Depending on the mode of living, fungi are classified into three
a. Saprophytes: they live on dead material or organic debris
b. Symbionts: they live together with other organisms in a close relationship (symbiosis).
c. Parasites: they live at the expense of organisms (parasitic).
Life cycle of fungi

➢ The cap produces spores which upon failing on a favourable environments, will
germinate to from mycelium.
➢ The mycelium forms secondary mycelium through the fusion of two sexually but
compatible mycelium
➢ Secondary mycelium form the fruiting body (mushroom)

PARTS OF A MUSHROOM

55 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

 Parts of a mushroom
1 Mycelium
➢ Underground part of the mushroom. It has the hyphae (very tiny filaments often white
in colour). It can live for hundreds of years if food is available
➢ Function: they absorb organic matter and water from the soil for the growth of
mushroom
2 Fruiting body (sporosphere)
➢ Part above the ground. It can only live for few days. It has the following parts
i. Stalk(stalk/stipe): it supports the cap and transport water to the cap
ii. Cap: it protects the gills of the mushroom
iii. Gills: located under the cap. It produces fertile spores
iv. Spores: they are tiny seeds. Form the reproductive part of the mushroom
v. Volva: it is the remains of membrane that covered the immature mushroom. It
ruptures as the stem grows.
vi. Ring: it is the membrane that covers the ruptured gills as the cap grows.it is
located under the cap and circles the stem.
vii. Scales: these are rough patches of tissues on the surface of the cap. These are
remains of the veil.
viii. Veil: this is a thin piece tissue that connects the cap to the stem in young
mushroom
Cultivated species of mushroom in Malawi

i. Oysters species
➢ Light tan to cream in colour
➢ It has a large fan-like cap and short stem
➢ It is delicious flavour and can be eaten raw in salad or cooked. It is also used as an
ingredient in soup
ii. Button species
➢ It is hard and dome shaped
➢ The colour varies from white to light brown
➢ It has nice flavour and can be used in salads and soup
➢ It can be canned or driers.
iii. Shiitake species
➢ It is broad and has an umbrella shaped cap

56 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

 ➢ Its colour ranges from tan to dark brown
➢ It tastes like steak when cooked
a. Button mushroom
➢ Two varieties are recommended.
1. TNS 1
➢ Requires a cropping temperature of 16℃ − 20℃.
➢ It is white in colour
➢ Has potential yield of 15kg per square metre.
2. TNS 2
➢ Requires a cropping temperature of 18℃ − 22℃. It is bigger than TNS 1
➢ It is white in colour and scaly with a potential yield of 15kg square metre.
➢ The temperatures are prevalent between March and July in most parts of the country.
Therefore mushroom can best be grow in these months
Differences between oyster mushroom and button

• Oyster mushroom are easier to grow than button

• Button have better taste than oysters
• Oyster are less capital intensive than button
• Oyster have shorter shelf life than button
• Oyster fetch lower prices on the market than button
• Oyster are good for beginning mushroom growers because
❖ easier to grow
❖ less capital intensive
• Button mushroom require special compost and fertiliser and hence farmers find it
difficult and expensive to produce.
Importance of mushroom production

• They are source of food, providing proteins, vitamins and minerals which are vital for
good health.
• They are also good source of income to growers
• They are source of foreign exchange
• Mushroom production can assist in diversification and provides a better way of utilising
crop, forestry and animal wastes.
• After cultivation, the substrate can be used as manure
Husbandry practices for mushroom production

• Selection of species
• Selection of site
• Construction of incubation and production sheds
• Substrate preparation
• Spawn source (buying and preparation)
• Substrate treatment
• Mushroom seeding
• Mushroom fruiting management
• Harvesting
a. Selection of species
Factors to consider when selecting species for mushroom

• Availability of waste material used as growth medium

• Presence of suitable environmental conditions
• Availability of expertise in growing mushroom

57 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

• Availability of capital
• Market demand for species you want to grow. Always checks the taste and preference of
consumers in your area. You should aim at satisfying the need of consumers
b. Site selection
• It should be away from livestock kraal, rubbish pits and latrines to avoid attracting flies
• It should be near a market in order to sell mushrooms fast since they are highly
perishable
• It should be near a dense forest to provide an ideal condition for mushroom growth
because humidity and availability of woods
• It must be free from pests and diseases otherwise mushroom can be destroyed
• Climate conditions. A warm rainy and humid environment. temperature range of 12-24
• Availability of transport for both produce and substrate so that they rich are of need
faster.
c. Construction of incubation and production house
➢ Cultivated mushroom are grown in a house
Qualities of a good mushroom house

• The house should include a dark for incubation and light production room for fruiting
• The house should provide a suitable humidity, temperature, ventilation and moisture
• Ensure ventilation by use ventilators and doors which face in face in the direction of wind
and shelves to prevent carbon dioxide build up in the house
• Use of insulation materials (plastic sheet and grass thatch) to prevent temperature
fluctuation in the house and increase efficiency of air conditioning.
• Should be solid and sloping for easy cleaning and to allow water to drain
• Sand should be placed on the floor since it absorbs water
Positioning of the house
➢ Should face the windward side and should be shielded from the sun
➢ It should be well ventilated
Materials for constructing incubation

• Poles, heavy gauge, plastic sheet, grass, bamboos, timber, nails, wires or plastic gauze.
Procedure for constructing incubation and production sheds for mushroom

•
Clear the site
•
Measure site 5m by 3m
•
Digging of the holes and fixing the poles into them
•
Construct the walls of the house 2m high using bamboos, strings or twigs
•
Construct shelves inside the sheds 0.5m to 1.0m in width. The length depends on the
size of the sheds
• Thatch the walls with grass
• Cover the remaining 0.5m of the walls from the roof with a clear plastic sheet
a. substrate preparation
➢ substrate is any material which is organic in nature on which mushroom grows
Materials for substrate preparation
➢ maize Stover, rice hush, maize cobs, cotton wastes, saw dust, banana leaves
Ingredients (supplements) which can be added to the substrate

58 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

 ➢ molasses, fertiliser, like single super-phosphate, lime, chicken manure, soya beans
powder or cotton seed cake
PROCEDURE FOR PREPARING MUSHROOM SUBSTRATE
i steps for preparing maize Stover (maize stalk, husks and cobs) as substrate for
mushroom
• chop the materials into smaller length (shredding process) for easy filling into sucks
• soak them for few hours so as to soften them up
• drain the water (blending process)
• treat the substrate to kill the germs
ii steps for preparing cotton wastes as a substrate for mushroom
• soak the cotton wastes for few minutes in water mixed with detergents as a softener
and disinfectant
• squeeze water out of the cotton wastes
• loosen the cotton
• treat the substrate
iii steps for preparing saw dust from hard wood as a substrate for mushroom
• moisten the saw e dusts
• add supplements’
• incubate it overnight
• add supplements
• treat the substrate
iv steps for preparing rice bran as a substrate for mushroom
• soak the rice bran in powered soap solution like OMO for ten minutes
• rinse the substrate to clean water until all the soap bubbles have disappeared
• treat the substrate
d. Spawn source
➢ Buying or preparation of spawn
➢ Spawn can be bought from the following places in Malawi
• Lilongwe sit of agriculture and natural resources
• Natural resources college
• Biology department at chancellor college
• Vumbwe research station
➢ Spawn preparation involves three stages
i. Culture medium preparation
➢ Materials used as culture medium preparation
• Potato Dextrose Agar Substrate
• Malt extract agar
ii. Tissue culture collection and preparation
iii. Spawn colonisation
Stage 1: culture medium preparation
➢ Culture medium is nutrients agar substrate on which mushroom fungi will be grown
Martials used for culture medium preparation
➢ There two types
• Malt extract agar
• Potato dextrose agar or PDA

59 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

Process of preparation of nutrient agar substrate

• Wash and weigh 200g of European potatoes or ordinary potatoes and cut them into
small pieces.
• Boil for 15 to 20 minutes in 1L of water until they are soft. Drain and save the water.
• Make water back up to 1 L with fresh water;
• add 20gm dextrose and 18-20 gm agar.
• Heat until the agar dissolves
• Sterilise the agar in autoclave for 121℃,for 15 minutes.
• Culture medium is poured into test tubes (1⁄4 full) or Petri dishes (1⁄2 full)
• Let the medium cool on the laminar airflow table
Process for preparation of Malt extract agar

• Add 20g of the extract to 1L of water and 18-20g of agar

• Heat until the agar is dissolved
• Put into bottles
• Plug and sterilise
Note that: malt extract agar can be available in both syrup or powder and they are normally
found with amateur beer makers.
Note: laminar airflow table is an enclosed bench designed to prevent contamination of
biological samples. The device separates air flowing through it into layers.
Stage 2: tissue culture collection and preparation
Materials needed
Fresh mushroom, alcohol (spirit or ethanol), razor, blade and forceps, cotton wool, bottles
Procedure

• Wash hands in alcohol to make them free from germs

• Break the mushroom with clean hands to expose the gills
• Remove the tissues between the gills and the upper part of the mushroom using forceps
• Place the tissue in sterilised test tube or petri dishes using the forceps
• Close the bottles near a flame with cotton wool
• Place the petri dishes and the bottles in an incubator or at room temperature
Stage 3: spawning (spawn colonisation)
Materials needed: sorghum, millet, and whole rice
Procedure

• Soak all the materials for preparing spawn in water for a day
• Remove the water
• Put the materials in sterilised bottles
• Sterilise the materials
• Let the contents cool
• Mix(inoculate) the tissue culture with the sterilised materials
• Put the inoculated bottles into an incubator for 15 days. The mycelium would have
colonised the materials by that time
e. Substrate treatment: the substrate should undergo sterilisation process to kill germs
Sterilisation

60 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

 a) Sterilisation by steam
i. Home-made sterilizer • Tighten the drum with a sisal
➢ This is made from an open drum string or linya
with a perforated platform (with • Heat the drum until steam reach
holes) the top
• Leave the substrate to cool
Procedure

• Put some stones in the drum to

create a platform
• Pout 10 litres of water into the
drum
• Fill the drum with substrate
• Cover the top with a plastic sheet
and make a hole in the middle of
the plastic as a safety valve

ii.
Use of autoclave
• Pack the substrate in the wire mesh baskets
• Put the basket into the autoclave machine and sterilise the substrate for 1 hour
• Remove the baskets from the machine and empty the content on the plastic sheet
and let it cool
➢ Note that: substrate should be properly treated to avoid infection since mushrooms
are sensitive to poor hygiene
b) Sterilisation by immersion in hot water
• Soak the chopped materials in hot water for 3 hours to soften them up
• Drain the water
• Chemical sterilisation by soaking in water
f. Mushroom seeding: seed for mushroom is called spawn
Procedure for seeding mushroom

• Wash hands thoroughly

• Pack the substrate into plastic bags
• Broadcast three quarters of the required amount of spawn in the substrate
• Mix the spawn with the substrate through
• Broadcast the remaining spawn on the top layer of the substrate
• Tie the mouth of the bag with a string
• Incubate the spawn bags in the dark rooms or covet with a plastic sheet until bags are
fully colonised (if colonisation is successful the whole substrate will turn white)
colonisation take place after 21 days depending on the temperature.
• Transfer them into the fruiting house where there is enough light for mushroom to start
forming
• Tie the bags on the racks and make few slits on the bags using a razor blade or a sharp
knife.
g. Mushroom fruiting management
➢ Mushroom fruiting is the stage where mushrooms emerge from mycelium. The activities
involved are
i Monitoring the spawn running
➢ Monitor the spawn as it develops until running on the running on the substrate
➢ A white colour indicates the growth of mycelium. If no growth occurs, it implies that the
substrate is too wet/too dry or the temperature was too low.
➢ Casing should be done when mushroom have begun to emerge thus 14 days after the
substrate is fully colonised with mycelium.

61 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

 ➢ Casing is the process of adding moist soil to the spawn.
➢ Clay loam taken from sub soil and should be low in organic matter content and PH
between 7.0 and 7.5.
➢ temperature of moist soil should be between 16℃ 𝑎𝑛𝑑 22℃
➢ It is put on top of compost for about 3 to 4cm and bout 30kg of soil is required per square
metre.
Importance of casing

• promotes and stimulates formation of fruiting bodies

• Retains the needed moisture for mushroom growth
ii Monitoring the colour change
➢ The normal colour of mycelium is white. It is important to monitor colour change to
know whether there is growth or not. If the substrate is green or pink in colour or partly
showing signs of white growth it means the temperature of the fruiting house is too
high
iii Hanging in the production sheds
➢ When the bugs are fully colonised hung them in the production sheds
➢ Importance: it ensures that all bags receive enough light
iv Watering
➢ It is done by sprinkling water on the bags, wall and on the floor
➢ It is done twice or three times a day depending n the weather.
➢ Importance: to maintain freshness and humidity in the mushroom house (above 80%)
this will enhance fruit development
❖ Note that: freshness in the house can also be maintained by ensuring that there is enough
ventilation in the house by routine opening of vents to avoid accumulation of carbon
dioxide
❖ Accumulation of carbon dioxide will lead to development moulds and bacterial
Harvesting mushrooms
FACTORS TO CONSIDER WHEN HARVESTING MUSHROOM
1. Maturity of the mushroom
• Ready for harvesting when button appear which fetch high price on the market.
• Mushroom can also be harvested when the caps appear (when the veils have opened).
• Can also be harvested when the flats appear and at this time the veils open up and the
caps are flats and gills are fully opened.
2. Market requirement
➢ Most consumers prefer button to the rest because mushroom have a good taste at this
stage.so most farmers harvest mushrooms before they start to open. Flats have less
demand on the market.
3. Plucking
➢ Mushrooms are ready for harvesting after 14 to 20 days after casing and they come in
weekly flushes. Harvest mushroom at the right time to ensure continuous formation of the
new ones. Leaving mushrooms for a longer period without harvesting will only increase
the size of mushroom not the number. The right stage for harvesting depends on one’s
own market.
4. Marketing
➢ Mushrooms ready for markets are divided into three grades depending on the size and
degree of maturity. These are
• Buttons: these are small enclosed mushroom. They fetch high prices on the market
because of good taste
• Caps: these are older buttons. These are mushrooms whose veils have opened but still
have rounded caps. They have medium size value

62 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

• Flats: these are the mushrooms whose veils have fully opened, the caps are flats and the
gills are fully exposed. They fetch low prices at the market.
PROCEDURE FOR HARVESTING MUSHROOM

• Hold the cap

• Twist the mushroom
• Pull it together with the roots
• Cut off the root
• The hole left behind should be filled with fresh casing soil
• Watering of beds should be done soon after harvest
Essay question 2019
Describe any five factors to consider when harvesting mushroom

• Market- when harvesting mushroom there must be a market already available

• Prices-mushroom should be harvested when demand is high
• Maturity of mushroom-it is important for the farmer to harvest the mushroom when it
has fully matured
• Threat to pests, diseases and theft; when a farmer knows that the mushroom is at risk
for being stolen or damage they have the mushroom
• Transport –farmers should consider securing transport when harvesting mushrooms to
ensure that they reach customers quickly
• Labour-whenever mushroom is to be harvested it is important to have enough personnel
so that the mushrooms should be harvested quickly
PEST AND DISEASES OF MUSHROOMS
➢ Main pests of mushrooms include: flies, rats, snails and mites
a. Phorid and scarid flies
➢ Are attracted by the odour of the mycelium
➢ The flies do not harm the mushrooms as such but they lay their eggs on the mycelium
➢ It is the larvae (maggots) which eat and damage the stems, gills and mushroom
themselves.
Control
Flies can be controlled by

• Keeping the fruiting rooms clean

• Removing the old and contaminated bags regularly
• Setting up fly light traps
• Nematodes are known to prey on the mushroom fly larvae
b. Rats
• Are usually a problem if the surroundings are dirty
• They damage the substrate bags
Control

• Setting traps
• Keeping the surrounding clean
• Keeping cats
c. Snails
• Eat mushrooms at night

63 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

 Control

• By hand picking and killing them

• Bats and traps are also used
• Use of salts
d. mites
• are tiny spiders
• they eat mycelium or the actual mushrooms
• they are also carriers of green moulds caused by Trichoderma and other fungal
diseases
Control

• by spraying quicklime
• spraying malathion
e. beetles
Damage caused

• eat the fruits

• make holes in the gills and hide inside
Control

• hand picking and destroying them

Diseases of mushrooms
Examples of other fungal diseases
disease Diseases causing Damage caused control
organism
Dry bubble Verticilium • Distortion and spotting • Proper hygiene and sanitation
fungicola • Mushroom stems with • Sterilisation of substrate
tilted cap
• Mushrooms are
deformed
Wet bubble Mycogone Mushroom are deformed • Use of bacterial and
pernicious actinomycetes as biological
measures
• Steaming at 54.4℃. for 15
minutes
• Spray benomly

Cob web Cladobotyum Soft rot or decay of fruiting • Sterilisation

dendroides body • Sanitation and hygiene
(regular cleaning and
removing dead mushrooms)
• Spraying fungicides such as
chlorinated lime
Trichoderma fungus Green moulds appear as • Remove contaminated
green moulds spots on the dead mushroom substrate
(most and substrate • Splaying chemicals
common • Observe hygiene
disease )
happen when
the substrate is
contaminated

64 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

It is an air
borne disease
and can also
be transmitted
by flies and
mites

UNIT 12 LIVESTOCK FEEDS AND FEEDING

Classes of livestock feeds
➢ Farmers keep different types of animals on their farms. These animals have different
requirements due to the differences in their digestive systems. It is against this
background that animals’ feeds are grouped into different classes.
➢ A feed Feeds: animals’ food
➢ Feed: is a mixture of several feedstuffs that will supply the required nutrients to
animals
➢ Feedstuff: is food material containing one or more nutrients.
Classification of feedstuff
➢ They ae classified into
• Roughage
• Concentrate
a. Roughage
➢ These are feeds from plant matters hence they have high fibre content.
➢ The form the bulk feed for ruminant because they are able to digest feed cellulose (feed
with high fibre contents)
Characteristic s of roughages
• Have high fibre contents
• High moisture content
• Low protein content
• Low digestibility due to higher fibre content
Types of roughages
i Dry roughage
➢ Have high fibers contents
➢ Low energy value
➢ Contain very little moisture (less that20%)
➢ Examples: hay, maize stovers, groundnuts haulm
ii Succulent or green roughages
➢ They are so bulky with high mass per unit
➢ High moisture content (20-50%)
➢ Low dry matter content
➢ Contain carotene rich in vitamin A
Examples green roughages

• Fresh grass such as star grass, kikuyu grass, elephant grass, giant star grass, silage,
bananas stems.
• Legumes pasture which are rich in proteins, for example; Lucerne, Leucaemia,
desmodium spp, Glycine spp and the like.
• Browsing trees and shrubs which are mainly found in semi-arid areas e.g. acacia.
• Vegetables such as cabbages and kale
• Sweet potato vines and turnips
b. Concentrates

65 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

 ➢ Have high carbohydrates and protein contents
➢ Low in crude fibre content less than 20%
➢ Low crude fibre contents
➢ The main diet of non-ruminant because they cannot digest cellulose
Types of concentrates

• Energy(carbohydrates) concentrates
• Protein concentrates
a. Energy concentrate
➢ These are rich in energy and examples are follows
• Cereals grains. maize, wheat, sorghum
• Process cereals: maize bran. Wheat bran, barley bran, molasses
b. Proteins concentrates
• Protein concentrate of animal origin: e.g. cotton seedcake, sunflower, legumes
(g/nuts, beans, peas, soya
• Protein concentrate of animal origin: e.g. fish meal, milk, wheat meal, blood meal,
liver meal, liver meal, bone meal.
➢ Additives should be given to animals apart from roughages and concentrates and these
include vitamin and mineral supplements
➢ Feed nutrients
➢ Feedstuff can contain one or more nutrients. These feed nutrients include; water,
➢ carbohrates,fats and oils, proteins, vitamins and mineral
Functions of nutrients in livestock feeds

Nutrient function source

water • Essential for body cells and Drinking water, succulents,
activities milk
• It makes the cells turgid thus
maintains the shape of the body
• It lubricates body joints
• It helps in the transportation of
body fluids
• It helps in regulating body
temperature
Carbohydrates • Provide energy Cereals (such as maize,
(starches and • Excess are stored in form of fats sorghum, millet, madeya),
simple sugars) potato, vines, grass, roots tubers
(such as cassava)
Fats and oils • Provide energy (twice as much Oil seeds such as ground nuts
as carbohydrates) and cotton seed, soya beans,
• Essential component of body milk, eggs, meat, fish meal and
cells bone meal
• Excess fats stored in body acts
as insulating layer in vitamin’s
body and prevents loss of heat
• They are carrier of fat soluble
vitamins A, D and K
Protein (made • Body building and repair worn • Grain legumes
up of amino out tissues • Meat, liver, milk
acids) • Components of enzymes, • Bone and fish meal
hormones and antibodies
• Excess are converted into energy

66 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

Minerals(caiciu • Bone formation • Milk,
m and • Calcium for egg shell formation • Meat
phosphorus) • Milk formation • Bone meal
• lime
iron • part of haemoglobin • Egg yolk
• prevents anaemia
magnesium • for healthy bones and teeth • Milk, cereal grains
• helps to metabolise
carbohydrates
iodine • growth f thyroid grand, which • Iodised salts
produce thyroxin
• prevents goitre
Copper and • form part of haemoglobin and • Salts containing copper
cobalt enzymes (cobalt form part of and cobalt
vitamin B12)
• improves appetite in ruminant s
• prevents anaemia
• maintain blood pressure
• essential for bile formation
Sodium • maintain blood pressure • Common salts and rock
• essential for bile formation salts
manganese • helps in bone formation and • Most feeds
enzymatic reactions
• essential for metabolism of
proteins and carbohydrates
chlorine • part of gastric juice • common salts and rock
• aids digestion salts
potassium • helps in functioning of muscles • Potassium chloride,
and the heart grass
• activates enzymes
zinc • helps in enzymatic reactions Most feeds
Vitamin A (fat • eye sight and growth • Milk, fresh grass,
soluble) • ‘prevention of diseases yellow maize, fish, cold
liver oil
Vitamin B • Carbohydrates, proteins Green vegetables, groundnults
(water soluble) Fats meal, cereals, fish meal,
ruminants sysnthese vitamin B
through the micro-organisms
that are found in rumen
Vitamin C • Diseases resistance Green leafy vegetables, fruits
(water soluble)
Vitamin D (fat • Bone formation Sunlight, fish liver oil, yeast,
soluble) • Prevents rickets green grass, hay
Vitamin E (fat • Proper functioning o Grains, cereal grains,
soluble) reproductive system groundnuts oils, green
• Prevents sterility in animals vegetables, green grass and
other green folders, soya beans,
grass
Vitamin K (fat • Blood clotting All feeds, especially succulent
soluble) • Prevents bleeding roughages or leafy vegetables
• Helps transporting nutrients
67 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)
Feed ration
➢ A ration: is the amount of feed given to the animals everyday
➢ For animals to grow well they need a balanced ration
➢ A balanced ration: is the amount of feed that contains all the nutrients and in the right
proportions.
Types of ration
a. Maintenance ration
➢ Amount of feed that the animal needs per day to maintain its body processes without
gaining or losing body weight.
Examples of body processes

• Respiration
• Movement
• Blood circulation
• Body temperature
➢ It is important for young animals or animals in gestation (pregnancy period)
b. Production ration
➢ Amount of feed given to animals over and above maintenance ration
➢ Essential for animals to produce eggs, milk and meat
❖ No one feed has all the necessary nutrients to keep animals healthy. choice of feed stuff
to use depends on
a. Its availability
b. The cost of the feedstuff
c. Its nutritional composition
d. The physical or processing nature of the feedstuff such as colour, smell, particle size
• Commercial livestock are very expensive however the additives are well balanced
Advantage of home-made feed

• Home-made feed is cheaper

Disadvantages of home-made feeds

• Mixing of the various feedstuff may not be thorough

• Seasonality of the grains. They may not be available at the time they are required.
• Farmers may lack technical know-how on feed value formulation
Methods of ration formulation
➢ There are many ways of ration formulation. But the commonly used method is called the
Pearson’s square methods.
Pearson square
In order to use this method, there is need to know the following
• Animals’ feed requirement
• Nutrient composition of the ingredients and this target only proteins
• Can only be used for two feed stuff.
• When mixing only two feedstuff

68 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

Examples
Formulate a pig ration containing 20% protein using maize meal containing 7% protein
and fish meal containing 62% protein. Calculate the mount in kilograms of each feedstuff
required to prepare 100kg of the feed.
Procedure
1. Draw a square
2. Place the desired protein percentages in the ration in the middle of the square
3. Draw diagonals of the square
4. Place the percentage of each stuff at the left corners of the square
5. Subtract the figures diagonally across the square. Remember to subtract the smaller
number from the larger one.
6. Disregard the negatives signs
7. Place the number obtained on the right corners, giving the required parts of each feedstuff
to be used in the mixture.
8. Add up the parts to obtain at the base what will be used to calculate the amount of each
feedstuff to be used in preparation.

𝒕𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒔 = 𝟏𝟑 + 𝟒𝟐

= 𝟓𝟓 ,
𝟒𝟐
𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒛𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒍 = × 𝟏𝟎𝟎𝒌𝒈
𝟓𝟓
= 𝟕𝟔. 𝟒𝒌𝒈,
𝟏𝟑
𝒇𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒍 = × 𝟏𝟎𝟎𝒌𝒈,
𝟓𝟓
= 𝟐𝟑. 𝟔𝒌𝒈
❖ From the calculations above, when 42 parts of maize meal are mixed with 13 parts of fish
meal, the results will be 20% protein ration.

How to prepare a ration using three ingredients using a Pearson square

Procedure

• steps are the same with those followed when formulating a two ingredients feed

69 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

 • the two energy sources or protein sources are placed at the left corners of the square and there
is need to find average of the two
Example
Formulate a 30% proteins feed using soya bean which contains proteins and wheat and
maize bran as source of energy sources for feed containing 15% and 10% respectively.

𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑠: 10 + 17.5 = 27.5𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑠

17.5
𝑠𝑜𝑦𝑎 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑙 = × 100 = 63.6%
27.5
10
𝑠𝑜𝑦𝑎 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑙 = × 100 = 36.4%
27.5
➢ since there are two ingredients contributing to 36.4 then for
36.4
• wheat meal, it will be: 2 = 18.2%
• maize bran, it will be the same: : 𝟏𝟖. 𝟐%
Factors to consider when feeding livestock
1. The type of animal: ruminants can digest roughages while non-ruminant cannot. Exotic
breed require good quality feeds produce high quality products.
2. The age and body size of the animal: young animals require less feed than larger
animals and some animals will initially only depend on milk until they are introduced to
solid feeds
3. Physiological condition of the animal. Animals should not be allowed to starve and feed
should not be wasted because it is expensive.
4. Purpose for which the animal is kept or level of production. Draught animals require
high energy feeds and animals kept for milk, meat and eggs require more concentrates.
5. The quality of feed; the feed should be easy to ingest and digest
6. Palatability: feed should be appetizing to animals. This is due to taste and smell. Animals
like appetizing feed.
7. Digestibility: the feed should be easy to digest and this depends on the type of the animal.
8. The amount of feed and its texture: this will depend on quality and type of the feeds.
The coarseness and finest is an important aspect especially for chickens.
9. Cost of the feed. Feed should be given to animals which are in production and feed
should not be wasted as it is expensive. This also determines the number of animals the
farmer is able to keep

70 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

UNIT 13 SHEEP AND GOAT PRODUCTION
• The sheep population is, however, low because sheep production is constrained by lack of
improved breeding stock, poor husbandry practices parasites and diseases. Therefore the
national has to increase the numbers of sheep and productivity of indigenous sheep by
practising improved standards of management.
Listing breeds of sheep and goats

Sheep Origin Use Goats Origin Use

Local Malawi Meat Local goat Malawi Meat
Sheep
Dorper Persia Mutton Boer South Africa Meat
Hampshire England Mutton Anglo- North east Meat
Nubian Africa
Merino North Wool Saanen Switzerland Milk
coast of
Africa
Karakul USSR, Skin Toggenburg Asia Meat
Iran, Iraq
Black Head Persia Mutton Angora Britain Mohair
Ramney Romney in Wool Alpine India Meat
Marsh England
Corriedale New Dual Jamnapari East Africa meat
Zealand
Small East Africa meat
African goat

1. Criteria used for selecting breed of sheep

a. adaptation to the climatic and local environmental
➢ The breed of sheep and selected should be suited to the climatic and local conditions of
the area.
• The indigenous sheep are suited to the hot, dry condition of the country.
• The sheep are hardy and adaptable to conditions of low inputs. Local can be improved
through cross-breeding and improved management.
• The karakul is adapted to desert conditions, the merino thrives well in dry conditions
and black persist is hardy
• Hampshire has been used for cross breeding in Malawi, it can survive on poor pasture,
it is heavy breed and good for wool production
• The indigenous sheep breeds have more resistance to parasites than the exotic sheep,
but drenching is very important part of sheep management
• Availability of feed. Sheep are managed best when they are kept in well fenced
paddocks
b. Use
• Select a breed that will give you the highest production of mutton, wool or skin
• Local Malawian sheep produces reasonable amount of mutton, weighing up to 30kg but
can be crossed with exotic breed to improve mutton, wool and skin production.
• The black Persian sheep is good for mutton, can weigh up to 50kg but its fat distribution
is uneven but can cross breed with Dorset Ram to improve this breed.
• Merino sheep are famous for wool production
• Karakul sheep are good for skin or pelt production.

71 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

Mutton sheep have the following characteristics

• Good mothering ability of ewes

• Should be fast growing
• Should have large body weight (size)
• High quality mutton produced
• They are blocky in shape
• Have short legs
2. Selecting appropriate breeds of goats
a. The purpose for which they are kept, meat, milk or mohair.
Goats kept for meat should be

• Grow fast and mature early

• Be from nannies with good mothering abilities
• Have a good body shape
➢ Milk goats should have large well-developed udders
b. Suitable to local and economic environment
➢ The Malawian goats are hardy and disease resistant. It is good scavenger; however its
genetic potential is limited and this can be cross-breed with exotic breeds to improve meat
and milk production.
c. Personal preference
➢ Most Malawians consider local goat meat to be tender and tasty but there is no evidence
to prove this claim
The age at puberty for sheep and goats
➢ Puberty: is the stage in the life of animals when it is sexually mature to start reproducing.
➢ Male starts producing male gametes known as sperms
➢ While female animals grafian follicles matures and start releasing female games called
the ova (eggs)
Table below shows puberty age for sheep and goats

Animal Age(months)
Sheep 15-18
goats 18
Terms used in sheep and goats production

• Ewe: a mature female sheep which has had more than one lamb
• Ram or tup: a mature male sheep
• Wether: a castrated male sheep
• Hogget: a young female sheep
• Lambs: these are very young sheep
• Billy/bucks: a mature male goat
• Nanny/doe: a mature female goats which has and more than one kid
• Kid : a young goat
➢ Oestrus cycle: the recurring period of sexual receptivity in female mammals.
➢ Also known as heat period
➢ Heat period first occurs when the sheep is around six to ten months
➢ The oestrus cycle is between fifteen and nineteen days and last for 18-24 hours.
➢ Flushing: the practice of giving concentrates to sheep two week before mating to
improve heath and fertility.
➢ In goats: oestrus cycle is 18 to 21 days and heat period last for about one to days

72 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

 ➢ The best time to mate animals is five month before the rains starts so that animals will
bear young kids or lambs when there is plenty of food.
➢ Kidding: the process of giving birth in goats while
➢ Lambing the process of giving birth in sheep and
The following are signs heat period in goats

• The nanny frequently wags or twitches of her tail

• Shows signs excitement
• Sometimes mounts other nannies
• Vulva become red and thick
• Mucus discharge from the vulva
Gestation period
➢ Refers to period between fertilization and kidding or lambing.
➢ Its 5 months or 150 days in both goats and sheep
➢ During this period the animals should be well looked after and should be regularly be
drenched or dosed against internal parasites and vaccinated against diseases
➢ They should be given concentrates one to two months before lambing or kidding and
this is called steaming up.
Characteristics of good sheep house

• Spacious
• Strongly built because sheep are prone to predators
• Well ventilated to prevent spread of diseases
• Well lit
• Dry and easy to clean
• Easy and cheap to construct
Characteristics of good goat house

• It is sited on a high ground

• It is cheap to construct
• It is strongly built
• It is roomy-with a floor space of about 1.0𝑚2
• It is well lit
• It is well ventilated , drought-free and dry
• It has hard floor made of concrete or hardened/rammed earth or clay
• It has well thatched roof
• It is well drained and easy to clean
➢ Kids and nannies are usually housed in separate pens and nannies are housed together
with one or two Billies.
Construction of sheep and goats house
Materials required

• Poles and twigs for rafters

• Ropes
• Sisal, linya and string
• Pangas and axes
• Nails
• Bamboos
• Thatch grass

73 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

 • Bricks and stones
Procedure for constructing goats and sheep house

• Assemble the materials required

• Lay out the site using tape measures, mallet, pegs and strings
• Clear the area of any bush or plants and digs the foundation
• Us the poles to stack out the corners of the house
• Lay stones in foundation until ground level
• Built up the wall up to about 60cm then use bamboo to raise the rest of the wall up to the
rafters
• Use poles and bamboo to construct the rafters on the roof
• Cover the roof with grass thatch and use sisal or linya to tie the grass to the roof poles.
Feeding behaviour of goats and sheep
➢ Sheep and goats are ruminants that depend mostly on pasture or grass.
➢ Sheep are more grazers than browser.
➢ While goats are both grazers and browsers

Different between grazing and browsing

➢ In browsing, the animal eats any parts of the plant. Goats will therefore eat plant
leaves, stems and even roots. They eat barks of stem. Goats can end up destroying trees to
point of death causing deforestation. This is why they are called browsers.
➢ In grazing, animal will eat grass and or herbs. Where possible, grazing animals can eat
selectively, eating only the most palatable plant species. In grazing correct stocking rate
prevents pasture destruction. Browsers can destroy trees when grass and edible herbs are
readily available.
Docking
➢ The process of cutting tail of an animal
➢ In lambs docking is when it is four or five weeks old
➢ The tails are cut about 5cm from the body
Reasons for docking

• It prevents dirt and dung from collecting under the tail, which could otherwise be a source
of infection.

74 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

• It helps in parasites control(for example, it is easier to remove external parasites such as
ticks from the anal area)
• It helps improve the quality of the carcass in fat tailed sheep
• It helps the animal to mate easily
Identifying suitable feeds for sheep and goats
a. Forage plants
• Grass
• Legumes e.g. lucerine
• Shrubs and trees whose leaves are browsed.
b. Roots
• Cassava
• Sweet potatoes
• Yams
c. Roughages
• Mature pastures e.g. dry forage
• Residues from crops e.g. straws and haulms
d. Concentrates
• Protein concentrates of plant origin e.g. groundnuts, cotton seed, sesame, soya beans,
sunflower, and coconut.
• Protein concentrates of animal origin are by-products from processing of carcases,
fish or milk.
Sheep and goats feed are selected for the following reasons

• They provide a balanced ration

• They are locally available since they are made from local crop residues
• Some can be bought cheaply
• Some can be grown on the farm
• They are free from toxic substances
• They can be dried and stored for use during the dry season
• They contain allots of nutrients
System for managing goats and sheep’s
a. Extensive system
➢ Animals are kept freely during the day to graze and browse. Sometime they are
supervised by herders.
b. Tethering
➢ Animals are tied to a tree during the day.
Types of tethering

• Picket: animals are tied by collar and chain to stake driven into ground
• Running tethering: animals are chained to metallic pipe fixed on the ground
horizontally.
c. Semi-intensive
➢ Animals are housed at night and fenced in paddocks at least 2 hectares during day.
Clean water should be provided to the goats.
d. Intensive system
➢ Also known as zero grazing or stall feeding or cut and carries. Under this system
goats re kept in the house and feed brought to them.

75 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

Diseases of sheep and goats
Diseases: is a physiological or anatomical disorder or abnormality in an animal which can be
identified through characteristic symptoms on the anima
Table showing common sheep and goat diseases and their control

diseases Causative agent Signs and symptoms Treatment and or control

measures
Nasa- Nasal bot • Small grey-greening • Spray or dip
worm (worm) fly fly with prominent • Use a fly repellent like
black spots on Stockholm tar to repel flies
thorax-fly covered off seed
with short light-
brown hairs
• Sneezing and thick
nasal discharge
Foot and virus • High fever • Imposition of quarantine
mouth • Inflammation of • Vaccination every six months
tongue, lips, and • Slaughter, burn and bury
gums making it infected animals
difficult to eat • Disinfect(sterilize) animal’s
• Lameness hooves
• Profuse and
continuous
salivation
Mastitis bacteria • Blood clots or pus in • Practice hygiene during
milk milking
• Swollen udder • Treat with antibiotics
• Drop in milk yield • Use disinfectants
• Rise in body • vaccination
temperature
brucellosis bacteria • abortion in late • cull and slaughter infected
gestation animals
• retention of placenta • disinfect areas contaminated
• yellow, brown, with uterine discharges
slimy discharge • proper disposal of aborted
from the vulva may foetus
occur • use of artificial insemination
• a blood test for all breeding
herbs to detect infected
animals
pneumonia bacteria • severe respiratory • keep young animals in warm
problems house
• abnormal lung • treat early cases of the
sounds such as diseases with antibiotics
bubbling, hissing • isolate sick animals
and gurgling • Ensure proper ventilation in
• animals appears dull the animals’ houses.
and losses appetite
Sheep pox virus • High fever
• Dark red
pimple/lesions

76 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

 •
Some lambs die
•
Abundant mucoid
nasal discharge
Goats and sheep diseases are categorized into
1. Protozoan diseases e.g Anaplasmosis, Conccidiosis, Trypanosomiasis
2. Bacteria diseases e.g Brucellosis, Mastitis, Pneumonia
3. Viral diseases e.g. Rinderpest, Foot And Mouth Diseases
4. Nutritional diseases e.g. Milk Fever, Bloat
Parasites of sheep and goats
a. External parasites
parasites Parts of the body attacked Treatment/control
or damaged
Ticks • Ears, tail, udder • Dipping animals regularly, fortnightly
• Suck blood thereby during dry season and weekly during
causing anaemia rainy season
• Transmit diseases like • Spraying called acaricides
heart water and red water • Hand picking
• Fencing restrict movement thereby
minimising spread of ticks
• Rotational grazing reduces the build-up
of ticks in a pasture
• Burning the infested pasture can kill
destroy life cycle of ticks
• Ploughing the land buries ticks deep
into the ground

Scaly • Skin • Dipping

mites • Cause itching • spraying
Lice • skin • dipping
• head
• foot
• suck blood
Tsetse • found in humid, bushy • spraying
flies areas • sterilization of the male tsetse flies by
• they become active during use of chemicals
the day • clearing bushes in areas infested by
• transmit trypanosomiasis tsetse flies
(nagana) in livestock • Trapping of flies by using of special
nets treated with appropriate chemicals.
The chemicals are usually laced with
insect attracting pheromones
b. Internal parasites
1) Liver fluke
• inhabit bile duct of sheep and goat
Effects of live fluke on goats and sheep

• digestive upset due to blockage of bile duct

• swollen abdomen
• demaciation(loss of body weight)
• anaemia due to destruction of live tissues

77 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

 • edama in jaws(swelling)
• death due to severe demaciation
Control measures of liver fluke

• routine drenching using drugs

• destroy water snails by treating swampy water with copper sulphate
• fence of heavily infested swampy areas to prevent farm animals from razing in such
infested areas
• drain swampy areas within the farm
2) Tape worms
• are host-specific
• two common ones which attack livestock are
Signs of tapeworms attack

• attacks by these worms make rough coat on animals

• make digestive disturbances like diarrhoea and occasional constipation
• animals develop pot bellies
• anaemia
• oedema
• presence of egg segments
• proglottides in the faeces
To control tapeworms

• routinely de-worm animals using appropriate drugs

• plough the pasture land to kill the cysts
• proper disposal of human waste e.g. use of latrines
• proper cooking of meat
• rotational grazing
• proper meat inspection
3) Round worms
• Usually cylindrical in shape and pink white in colour.
• Exist separately as male and female
• They inhibit the alimentary canal of sheep and goats
Effect of round worm on sheep and goats

• Retarded growth
• Scours
• Anaemia
• Stiff dry coat
• Diarrhoea
• Constipation
• Pot belly
Ways of controlling round worms

• Avoid grazing on muddy ground

• Avoid grazing on wet grass in the morning and when larvae are active
• De-worm animals using appropriate drugs
General ways of controlling parasite and disease in livestock’s

78 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

• Vaccination: this is a preventive measure to offer immunity against a particular
diseases
• Dipping/spraying: done regularly to kill vector which transmit disease
• Deworming: this is the administration of drugs to live stocks to control internal
parasites
• Dosing to treat sick animals because drugs kill disease causing organism e.g bacteria
• Disinfect the house to kill pathogens
• Keeping the house clean to avoids spreading and multiplication of disease causing
organisms
• Proper human waste disposal

79 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)

REFERENCE MATERIALS

• Excel and succeed, student book 3

• Arise with agriculture student book 3
• Jhango senior agriculture , student book 3
• East African agriculture, third edition
• Chanco senior in agriculture, question and answers\
• Achievers in agriculture ,book 3
• Strides in agriculture book 3

80 Phillip Mlowoka Gudulu Chirwa (0882149187, 0994405064)