Windhoek
To support farmers with their management planning, Agra ProVision is now offering customised farm mapping services to help farmers improve their productivity and to ensure that their farming businesses are a success.
Maps can be developed with different levels of detail, depending on client needs and provide a clear image of the farm boundaries, inner fences and the location of infrastructure such as boreholes and water points. Maps enable the farmer to plan ahead, assist staff to carry out day to day operations and provide accurate measurements of the area for herd and crop management. Farm maps are used in livestock farming for guidance in proper rangeland management and rotational grazing.
Maps can be provided in a range of sizes with the standard size being the A1 size. Farmers working with maps can utilise precision farming technology to optimise farm inputs and target applications thereby substantially improving production and returns. Frank Wittneben, Agra ProVision’s technical advisor for Livestock Production who oversees the production of maps, notes that farm size matters because land is the foundation from which the entire operation runs. “As a farmer you need exact data about your land to be able to maximise your farm’s potential production. Farm mapping is fast becoming the most accurate way to obtain essential information to assist the farmer to develop meaningful budgets for the farms sustainability,” he says continuing that “in unfortunate cases such as veld fires, the farmer can submit the maps to the labourers and neighbours for assistance. This is how important and relevant the maps are to a farming set up.”
Agra ProVision has over the years imparted knowledge and skills to producers on how to improve farm productivity, and this new service complements their farm management systems. The maps remain the intellectual properties of the farm owner. Farmers interested in having their farms mapped may contact Frank Wittneben at 061 290 9390/9123 or email frankw@agra.com.na/ advice@agra.com.na or SMS “maps” to 40404 (N$ 2 per sms) across all networks.