This study investigates the impact of improved maize varieties on household food security in eastern Zambia using household survey data from a sample of over 800 rural households. Since treatment effect estimates are

Fermented dairy products can be rich in beneficial microbes and one such product with potential is mabisi. Mabisi is a traditional fermented milk product from Zambia made through spontaneous fermentation of raw milk at ambient temperature using a calabash (gourd), clay pot, plastic or metal container. The fermentation takes about 48 hours after which the product is stirred and ready for consumption. This study was aimed at determining the types of production methods of mabisi and identifying the critical production process parameters. A survey was conducted using interviews and observations to determine the existing production practices/technologies and to capture indigenous knowledge on mabisi production in nine provinces of Zambia. We found seven different production methods which we coined; tonga, thick-tonga, illa, barotse, backslopping, cooked and creamy types. Interestingly, the tonga-type mabisi was produced throughout the country by different ethnic groups. The main process parameters were found to be fermentation time and temperature, type of containers, presence/absence of backslopping, agitation, heating and cooling, removal of whey and addition of raw milk. And further found that mabisi is a versatile product consumed with a wide variety of foods. This basic information is crucial for production process optimisation and microbial communities dynamics studies.

Pest management research within the context of agroforestry is in its infancy, and it is often difficult to say when a particular pest justifies investment in research to establish facts. Understanding the potentials and drawbacks of farmers' indigenous ecological knowledge (ethnoecology) may form the basis for constructive collaboration between farmers, agroforestry scientists and extension staff. Therefore, the objectives of the study were to (1) assess farmers' knowledge and perceptions of pests, (2) prioritize pest problems that limit tree planting and maize production based on farmers' own criteria and (3) to identify farmers' indigenous pest management practices for priority pests. Data were collected using community meetings, individual interviews and direct observation by the first author. The farmers involved in this study in eastern Zambia had over ten years of experience, while most of the farmers in Mozambique and parts of southern Malawi were new to agroforestry. Farmers perceived insects as the major causes of tree mortality, followed by drought, bush fires and browsing by livestock. Among the biological constraints to maize production, insects (particularly termites and stalk bores) and weeds (particularly Striga asiatica) were more important in farmers' minds than crop diseases. Fundamentally, the farmers' perception of the causes of tree mortality and crop pests agreed with researchers' perceptions and the literature. Both termite and witch weed problems were associated with low soil quality, and farmers use various indigenous control practices to control these pests. Some farmers did not know the causes of tree mortality, and hence do not take action. Farmer's perception of tree mortality was found to be a function of operator-specific variables such as sex, level of education and years of experience with tree species.

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Despite the efforts to promote adoption of conservation farming (CF) by public and private organizations, the adoption rate among Zambian smallholder farm households has been low. This study used nationally representative data to identify the factors that affect adoption of CF by smallholder farm households in Zambia. Propensity Score Matching (PSM) was employed to help match the adopters and non-adopters of CF based on the distribution of their similar observable characteristics upon which a separate logistic model was applied. The logistic regression analysis showed that age of the household head; access to loans; labour availability; in-kind income and location of the households in agro-ecological regions (AER) I and II significantly increases the odds of adoption of CF. Based on these findings, it is recommended that promotion of adoption of CF practices should be directed towards smallholder farm households in AER I and II and those in remote areas which are less accessible by roads. This could be complemented by improving the road infrastructure so that smallholder farmers in such areas would not only have access to agricultural loans but also be in contact with relevant extension organizations that promote CF.

Although wetlands (locally called dambos) are considered extremely vulnerable to poor agricultural practices, rising population pressures have caused their agricultural use to become increasingly important. Intensification of dambo use by way of chemical fertilizer and pesticide applications poses serious challenges to their ecological sustainability. This study evaluated gliricidia (Gliricidia sepium) leafy biomass as a possible alternative to commercial fertilizer, and Tephrosia (Tephrosia vogelii) leaf extract, commercial formulations of neem seed extract (Achook) and Bacillus thuringiensis (Thuricide) as alternatives to chemical pesticides in the production of cabbage in dambos. The study showed that soil fertility management practices can significantly influence the time to harvest the cabbage crop and its yield. Vegetables grown using gliricidia biomass produced significantly higher yields compared with the no-input option. The population density of diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella) larvae, the percentage of plants infested by cabbage webworm (Hellula undalis) and cabbage aphid (Brevocoryne brassicae) was significantly lower in cabbage treated with sprays of Tephrosia leaf extract and Achook. It is concluded that gliricidia leafy biomass as a soil fertility management practice combined with Tephrosia leaf extract and neem seed extract as a crop protection practice could increase the productivity of cabbage and ensure sustainable utilization of dambos.

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Farmers grow vegetables widely during the dry season in wetlands known locally as dambos in southern Africa. Declining soil fertility is one of the major factors limiting smallholder vegetable production in the dambos of eastern Zambia. An experiment was initiated with 43 farmers with the objective of assessing the agronomic and economic feasibility of foliar biomass of gliricidia (Gliricidia sepium) and leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala) for production of cabbage, onion and a subsequent maize crop during the dry season. The treatments were, on a dry-matter basis, 8 and 12 t ha −1 gliricidia, 12 t ha −1 leucaena and 10 t ha −1 manure + half the recommended fertilizer rate, inorganic fertilizer at recommended rate, and a control without any inputs. Direct field measurements and informal enquiries were used for evaluating the effects of different treatments. The highest cabbage and onion yields were obtained from manure + halfrate fertilizer application. The gliricidia biomass transfer technology produced cabbage, onion and maize yields comparable with the full fertilizer application. In both cabbage and onion, manure + fertilizer gave generally higher net incomes. Biomass transfer also recorded higher net incomes than the control, and required lower cash inputs than the fully fertilized crop. Net incomes of the biomass treatments were substantially reduced by the labour costs for pruning and incorporation of the biomass. The results indicate that the gliricidia biomass transfer technology could be used as an alternative to inorganic fertilizers for vegetable production in dambos.