Soya Bean Farming in Zambia: How We Use Soya Beans to Revive an Old Field

Another update on the 2021/22 soya bean crops we planted at Winterthorn. This time we focus on a field that had been repeatedly planted with maize for years and years by the previous owners. It is also made up of very sandy and acidic soil, leading to reducing yields and poor results. Our efforts to revive what we call the Kennedy Field have started with breaking the cycle of monoculture and introducing crop rotation. We put down soya beans, a legume crop that will help to revive the soil by fixing nitrogen from the air. Later, we will bring in animal manure and crop residues in order to improve the organic content, before planting a vegetable crop on it during the winter.