Agricultural Technology
In the agricultural technology portfolio, Musika’s focus is on improving access by the lower end of the agricultural market to new, productivity-enhancing technologies. This focus has been expanded to include the wide array of technologies, equipment and inputs available in the national, regional or international market that can improve the ability of the lower end of the market to produce, harvest, handle and store agricultural commodities.
It is Musika’s belief that the accelerated integration of technology into smallholder farming can be can seen in a wider strategic context of agricultural transformation and commercialisation that can raise farm incomes, create jobs and lower relative food prices on a national scale.
The economic case for continuing to drive investment in new technology is clear in terms of the benefits to farm, community and national economies, and the role of donor resources to support the research, testing and piloting process at the early stage of a new technology or business model can be justified.
Therefore, within the agricultural technology portfolio, Musika focuses on the following technology areas:
1. Mechanisation: Utilising lessons learned from previous industry efforts to drive smallholder mechanisation, Musika continues to support commercial players (agricultural equipment vendors, financial institutions and commercial market facilitators) to test new models of distribution for on-farm machinery (tractors, implements and harvesting equipment) and the necessary training, mentorship and oversight and after sales service that must accompany this process.
2. Irrigation: Irrigation is an area relatively unexplored by Musika in the past – largely because of an absence of reliable commercial partners willing to invest in the market development process – but it is a necessary intervention to drive on-farm productivity, utilise the farm and farm labour throughout the year and increase climate resilience through reducing reliance on the vagaries of a single rainy season. But now Musika has placed a greater effort on exploring both individual farm-based irrigation opportunities and also, where applicable, larger, market-driven block irrigation units at community level. Both opportunities require a holistic approach to not simply technology distribution but also financing and the development of the business model around the utilisation of the irrigated lands.
3. Post Harvest Solutions: In common with many developing countries, in Zambia, 20-30% of food is wasted, much of it in post-harvest losses that are easy to prevent with technologies like small metal silos or plastic crates. In India and Rwanda, such technologies have reduced losses by over 60% and increased smallholder farmers’ incomes by more than 30% and the economic case for investing in this market sector is very strong. Musika has begun to make efforts to test the applicability and marketability of various on-farm staple crop post harvest technologies.
4. Bio-technology: Innovations in biological inputs to agriculture are advancing rapidly on a regional and also national level, with the commercial farming sector driving adoption of biological solutions for plant nutrition and pest and disease control. For example, Zambian commercial farmers planted 40,000ha of soya in 2016 using biological seed dressing addressing both improved nutrition and disease control needs and the use of biological growth stimulants, mineral solubisation and pest control methods is also increasing.
Awareness and availability of biological solutions in the smallholder sector is very limited, yet these technologies have the potential to improve farm productivity and reduce inorganic fertiliser and agrochemical use, mitigating some of the negative effect on the environment and human health that intensive chemical agriculture can create.
Musika intends to work with suppliers to research, test and roll out relevant, affordable and appropriate biological solutions to the smallholder market and to provide technical advice to farmers on their use within an Integrated Pest Management framework
