Guru Singh from Morning Site Farm, outside Chisamba, Zambia, started farming 15 years ago. Back then, he knew little to nothing about farming.

“It was not a family farm. Now, I am making it one. I have introduced my grandson to the business and hopefully he is going to take over from me.”

His farm of 500 ha has 20 ha under drip-irrigation. He also has two Agrico centre pivots, one of 25 ha and one of 35 ha, which he controls manually with gauges.

“Agrico came and offered me the automatic option, but I am old school,” he jokes. “All my guys are also trained manually. If something works for you, why change it?”

The main water supply for Guru’s farm comes from eight boreholes, which gives him between 12 and 15 litres per second each. Water is pumped into reservoirs from where booster pumps send it towards the irrigation outlets.

Guru usually grows wheat and soya under his centre pivots. This year, he planted maize for the first time. He also grows cash crops such as cabbages, tomatoes and green maize, which he provides to the market, every day.

Mitigating drought with efficient irrigation

When he originally started farming, Guru relied solely on rain guns. Japhet Sayifwanda, Country Sales Manager for Agrico Zambia, helped Guru to make the change to drip-irrigation.

Now, Guru is never looking back. Although Zambia is experiencing a drought, he barely notices it. All his crops are under irrigation, and none are reliant on rain. “I have not experienced the drought’s impact at all. What I am today, is because of the irrigation system.”

He plans on expanding his drip-irrigation soon.

“Rain guns were good when I started, but now that I can compare it to drip-irrigation, I do not like it anymore. So, I’m trying to phase them out and increase drip-irrigation.”

“I have been using irrigation systems for ten years. The benefits I am getting are countless. Farming became more efficient, production increased, and profit increased.

“I have learned a lot from Agrico. They are friendly people who are ready to share information with you,” he continues.

Helping emerging farmers find their feet

Guru is learning as he goes. That is why he needs a partner to walk with him. He has chosen Agrico, and has no regrets.

“My first contact is always Japhet.  We are like partners now. We work together very well. They supply, I work. I recommend Agrico to everybody. Why? Because I am successful and I want every farmer to be successful.”

When a farmer contacts Agrico, a representative visits the farm to talk with the farmer about his exact needs. “We create a design, sit with the farmer and once he approves, we do the installation. Some farmers are just starting, they have no idea what type of irrigation to use, but we at Agrico are experts and we also train farmers how to use the systems.

“Our initiative is to meet the needs of the farmer. We like to build a long-term relationship with the farmer. He becomes our friend,” explains Japhet.

“Agrico has the best pivots available. The systems are easy to operate; any farmer can operate it. The parts are also simple and available at our many branches. There is also no other company who’s pricing can compare with ours,” says Japhet.

Should you find yourself not in Zambia, but elsewhere, do not be concerned. “We export to other African countries like Congo, Zimbabwe and Malawi,” Japhet says.

Contact www.agrico.co.za for more information.

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