KATIMA MULILO – Prominent horticulture farmer and conservation expert Morgan Saisai has strongly criticised modern monoculture farming.

He said it severely degrades the soil and reduces crop yields.

Saisai, who hails from a rural farming family in Izimwe village, has transformed his 2.4 hectares of productive farmland in Kabbe South in the Zambezi region into a profitable venture through years of hard work and dedication since 2004. 

Speaking to Select Agri, Saisai explained that the common practice of planting the same crop, like maize, year after year on the same land, depletes the soil of specific nutrients. 

“The nutrients which support the maize in that soil will no longer be there,” he stated.

A large proportion of the population in the Zambezi region depends heavily on maize as their primary daily staple, unlike in other regions, where households diversify crop production by growing other crops such as sorghum and millet (mahangu).

Saisai grows various crops, including maize, pumpkins, tomatoes, lettuce, cabbage, spinach, cucumbers, chilies, mangoes and green peppers.

He contrasted this with the high yields achieved through conservation agriculture, a method he described as a return to traditional practices. 

“In areas where they practise conservation agriculture, the yield will be 15 to 20 tonnes [per hectare]. You see, for those here who just go on a large extent from your one hectare, you will maybe just get two or three [tonnes]. See the difference,” Saisai reasoned.

His solution involves minimal soil disturbance, crop diversity and understanding each crop’s ideal season to work in harmony with the environment, rather than against it. 

Due to his conservation farming efforts, Saisai is currently harvesting and selling some of his produce, such as cabbage, to the local market. 

Conservation agriculture is not about one specific technology.

 Instead, it is based on a systems approach to farming that helps conserve, improve and make more efficient use of natural resources through integrated management of available soil, water and biological resources.

-anakale@nepc.com.na