MZUZU UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

AGRI-SCIENCE DEPARTMENT

INTERNSHIP REPORT

PERIOD :

STUDENT NAME. :

REGISTRATION NUMBER. :

PROGRAM. :

DATE. :
DEDICATION
This report is dedicated to my family especially my Uncle (George Samikwa) for the support rendered to
me during and after my internship program. Despite the financial challenges faced during this period,
my Uncle kept encouraging me not to be distracted by any negative situation. From his small business,
he provided the family with enough food stuffs and groceries to sustain the family when I was away.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The initiative exhibited by Mzuzu University to send potential undergraduate students for internship
program prior to their graduation is very much appreciated as it pre-exposes the student to the
expected workload in the pursued agricultural career and better still, it instills a sense of self confidence
and humor in the successful student when dealing with agricultural programs.
I appreciate the goodwill and efforts of the University staff engaged in the internship program.
My gratitude is extended to the following:

 Dr. Mnthambara the head of department for Agri-science, and Mr Jere the lecturer for providing
guidance on how the internship program should be carried out, and for the support and
knowledge availed to me.
 Mr. Steven Fabiano and Miss Hezel Chilimampunga the District Field Officers, for supervising me
during internship period

I further extend my gratitude to the following:

 Tiyen Organization management for hosting and training us in Sustainable Organic Agriculture
(SOA), and Organic Cereals Production for two weeks.
 Lastly but not the least, I thank my workmates, friends, fellow students, and all those who
contributed to the successful completion of my internship Program. I thank them all most
sincerely. .

OBJECTIVES

The main objective of this report is to provide the exact information on the activities which were
conducted, lessons learned, problems faced and the knowledge obtained during the internship
 (attachment) period.
METHODOLOGY

Mostly leaning was through participation, listening, observation, and demonstrations.

INTRODUCTION
Internship or Field Attachment Program (FAP) was introduced by the Mzuzu University to pre-expose
prospective undergraduates to real field situations and to prepare us to face the agricultural work
challenges and workload more diligently in the pursued Agricultural career.
This report provides details of the activities that were undertaken during the internship program which
commenced on Monday, 13th February, 2023 and ended on 30th ,March, 2023 (1 months and 13 days)
in Mulanje District with the Tiyen Organization. Tiyeni is a Malawian and UK NGO empowering
smallholder farmers to eradicate poverty and hunger in Malawi and neighbouring African countries,
through climate smart agriculture and working with communities on the conservation of their natural
resources. Food and water are critical for life.
Diagrams, tables and pictures are used in the report as a means to explain some details concerning
some activities. The information presented in the report is about field crop production, post-harvest
crop management, and Agribusiness Management which were conducted according to the assignments
allocated to me during the internship period.

It must be clearly noted that the report does not serve as a reference book, however, the terms used
herein and the activities reported on are all about the activities that were conducted during the period
stated above and might be synonymous or not with reference books.

BACKGROUND
Mulanje is geographically located at Southern Region of Malawi. The capital is Mulanje. The district
covers an area of 2,056 km.² East in the southern part of malawi, sharing international borders with
Mozambique.and has a population of 428,322 this is from National Statistics Office. It is also known for
its tea growing industry and Mount Mulanje which is one of the highest peaks in Southern Africa.

ACTIVITIES CONDUCTED DURING THE INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

Bedding
Deep-bed farming is a new sustainable and profitable technology package that involves deep tillage to
breakdown the soil’s hard pan in the first year of cultivation. It follows contour lines with closed-end
furrows to prevent soil erosion, building soil fertility and soil health, harvesting rain water, and
improves infiltration of water into the root zone. The technology thereby improvesroot growth and
development and resulting in the field with vigorous plants even in steep slopes and prolonged dry spell
conditions.

The technology is climate smart as compared with conventional farming since there is construction of
box ridges, use of manure, soil mulching, and regenerative agriculture. These provided solutions to loss
of soil, low soil fertility, sub-soil hard pans, low yields and loss of soil biodiversity. It follows the
principles and elements of Conservation Agriculture. It accommodates soil mulching so it regulates soil
temperature and reduces soil water evapotranspiration. Vetiver grass is planted on contoured marker
ridges and boarders to reduce water loses.

Deep-bed budding farming was done on the maize seedlings which were 3 months old on the secondary
nursery. This secondary nursery was planted way back before I started my internship.

How to start Deep-bed Farming?

The farmers must follow the steps aligned below to successfully implement Deep bed farming
technology. They are also encouraged to form and work in groups and get necessary training to
implement the technology. The group should identify land to serve as own leaning point.

Step 1: Break up the hard pan. Use a pickaxe to break the compacted layer underground. This will allow
roots, water and air to penetrate deeply into the soil. Crops with deeper rooting system can extract
water and nutrients from sub soil and help the crops to withstand periods of dry spells
Step 2: Create marker ridges. Careful survey the land to identify the points to mark using line levels.
Thereafter, create marker ridges on the contour lines at intervals down the slope. The beds will follow
the contour lines up to end of the field.
Step 3: Reinforce the marker ridges. Plant Vetiver grass or other non-invasive deep-rooted grass,
planted to stabilise the marker ridge. The grass will act as a barrier to surface water
run-offs on a steep slope.
Step 4: Create the holding ditch. Dig a ditch 0.5 metres wide and 0.3 metres deep along the marker.
Step 5: Create the deep beds: Deep beds are designed to maximize water retention and infiltration by
preventing water runoff. Construct deed beds using line levels by creating market ridges exactly along
the contour lines of the terrain, at intervals down the slope. Each ridge has a ditch running alongside it
(the ridge is created with earth excavated from the ditch). The deep beds are one-meter-wide, enough
for two rows of maize or three rows of legume crops. Between two beds a ditch is also dug, 30 cm deep
and the distance between two deep beds is 50 cm apart. The ditch consists of closed ends and boxed at
3 or 4 metre intervals, which become a holding reservoir for water after heavy rains and allows slow
water percolation into the subsoil.
Step 6: Use of manure and mulching. Apply manure made from different methods. Manure build up
organic content of the soil, reduces use of artificial fertiliser, lowers PH, builds soil organisms, and
improves water holding capacity among others. Mulching is important in deep beds after manure
application to act as a barriers to water surface run-off and decomposed material also increase soil
organic carbon.
Step 7: Planting: Planting the beds with main and cover crops by a range of crops including maize,
legumes, pumpkins and other local crops. For maize, create two rows on top of the deep bed 75 cm
apart, leaving 12.5 cm on both sides of the deep bed. Under rain fed conditions, planting is done after
first rains, when the soils are sufficiently wetted to a depth of 15cm. This is mainly between October
and December. For planting maize, plant one seed in rows/ridges per stations spaced at 25cm apart.
During the second and subsequent seasons, leave the standing stalks and plant maize between the
stalks. The roots of such stalks once decomposed contribute to organic matter build up. For legumes
such as cowpeas, soybeans and common beans in sole cropping the same planting spaces are
encouraged except in double row planting.
Intercropping maize and legumes is recommended under deep bed farming. Grain legumes such as
common beans, cowpeas, pigeon pea are planted between maize rows. Plant legumes on twin rows
spaced 25 cm away from each maize row. Intercropping maize with legumes has several benefits
including soil erosion control, soil fertility enhancement, weed control, disease and pest control among
others.

Deep beds diagram

ACTIVITIES DONE AT MATHAMBI DEMONSTRATION SITE

The Ministry of Agriculture, Sesheke District attached me to Kasisi Agricultural training Centre to
undertake a training in Sustainable organic agriculture and Sustainable Vegetable Production from 1st
October to 12th October, 2018. The training was sponsored by SCAF (a non-governmental Organisation
promoting organic food), Ministry of Agriculture, and Kasisi Agricultural Training Centre.

TRAINING IN SUSTAINABLE ORGANIC AGRICULTURE

This training was undertaken from 1st October to 5th October. The training was so compacted and had
so many practicals to undertake. Sustainable Organic Agriculture (SOA) was defined as a farming system
which is environmentally friendly, economically viable and socially just.

Environmentally friendly: The quality of natural resources is maintained. The resources are used in a way
that minimizes losses of diversity, nutrients, biomass and energy and avoids pollution. It also means
that the health of the entire ecosystem is enhanced and sustained.
Economically viable: Farmers can produce enough for own consumption and a surplus for sale to gain
sufficient cash to cover the cost of production and have enough money to cover their needs.
Socially just: This means that Sustainable Organic Agriculture (SOA) is an equitable system for all people
including future generations. In SOA a farmer is urged to think of how his/her farming system is
affecting those around him/her; those involved in the production process; those to use the land/natural
resources after him/her and how the produce would affect the consumers.
The question was why should we practice Sustainable Organic Agriculture (SOA)?
To answer the question, issues of Land degradation, Population growth, High cost of external inputs
versus the high rural poverty levels, Imbalances in the ecosystem, Poor nutrition at household and
national level, Climate change, Stability of production/High yield with low year to year variability, and
Toxic effect of chemicals were discussed tojustify reason for practicing SOA.

Principles and practices of SOA

The three (3) principles of SOA which are: Soil Fertility Management, Soil and Water Conservation, and
Natural Pest and Disease Management were discussed in details during the training.
Benefits of SOA
Economic benefits, Environmental benefits, and Social benefits were discussed in details. Steps on how
a farmer can convert from conventional Agriculture to
Sustainable Organic Agriculture were also discussed.
Soil organic matter
The following topics were discussed under this topic:

 What soil is,

 composition of a typical ideal soil,
 what Soil Organic Matter (SOM) is, and
 Importance of soil organic matter in the soil.

The following Functions of Soil Organic Matter were given:

 Supply of plant nutrients

 Retention of plant nutrients
 Retention of moisture
 Improves nature of sandy and clay soils
 Provision of food for soiorganisms
 Improves taste of produce and crop pest tolerance
  Protects the soil against drastic negative changes

 Practices to improve soil organic matter

The following practices were said to improve soil organic matter: Animal manure
application, use of Compost, practicing Agroforestry, Mulching, use of Extracts and teas.

MANURE, COMPOST AND EXTRACTS

I. ANIMAL MANURE
On this topic, we learnt what manure is, the nutrient content of animal manures, application
rates, Handling and storage of animal manure.
II. COMPOST : Here we defined compost as a mixture of organic materials decomposed by
microorganisms in a warm, moist, and aerobic environment in a process called composting.
Topics on compost making included: importance of Composting, Basic principle of compost-
making, what happens in a compost heap, and the compostmaking process.

THE COMPOST-MAKING PROCESS

A demonstration on compost making was the conducted. There is no single, fixed way of making
compost as it will depend on the materials available. However, there are principles that should be
applied in making compost so that it is successful. Here are some guidelines for successful compost-
making:

Site location
An assignment was given to me by the tutors to select the site. The site for making a compost heap
should be as near as practically possible to the fields where the finished compost will be applied. This
saves time and labour in carrying the compost to the fields. The site should also be near a source of
water for watering the heap when turning it and near to the source of the raw materials for making the
compost, for example livestock housing or crop residues.
Mobilization of materials
We gathered the materials for making the compost at the proposed site for the heap. A mixture of
different kinds of materials is needed for the compost heap and should comprise of dry plant materials,
green plant materials, some coarse plant materials and animal manure.
Preparation of materials
Bulky materials such as maize stalks were cut up into pieces no larger than 10 cm otherwise they would
take too long to break down and larger pieces will still remain intact when the rest of the materials have
decomposed. Bulky materials were easily cut up using a hoe and a panga into smaller pieces. Fresh
green materials, such as grass, weeds, leaves or vegetable trimmings were used without

preparation.
Materials that were used for making compost

 Dry plant materials: straw, hay, crop residue, hulls, agro industry bi-products
(dusts, cakes, dry rejects)
 Green plant materials: weeds, biomass from trees/shrubs, vegetable residues,
fresh rejects, green grass.
 Animal manure as a source of nitrogen and micro-organisms to breakdown the organic material
in the compost pile
 Water (moisture) to keep the micro-organisms alive.

Materials not to be used for composting are:

 Infected plants, poisonous plants (castor beans), plant materials which take too long to
breakdown, acidic and toxic plants (acacia and eucalyptus), plants containing substances that
interfere with decomposition (pine needles)
 Cat and dog manure – contain pathogens
 Inorganic materials e.g. plastics
 Hazardous materials such as old batteries, razor blades, chemical wastes, etc.

Process of making a compost heap

a) Collect materials to be used and assemble near the selected site for building the compost heap
b) Measure and mark the desired dimension of the heap. The maximum dimensions
l of a compost heap are 1.5m width and 1.5m height. The length is dependent on what the
farmer can manage. Put long pegs in the four corners of the heap to direct and hold the heap.
c) Clear the marked area

Step by step laying of materials

Step 1: Place chopped materials of dry twigs/maize stalks to height of 15 – 30 cm from the ground. This
layer is basically to help effectively aerate the heap. In most cases materials in this layer do not
completely break down by the end of the composting process.

Step 2: Place a thick layer of dry vegetation such as grass, leaves or any crop residue (brown material) as
a source of carbon, to a height of 15 – 25 cm.

Step 3: Add water – enough water should be added to thoroughly moisten the brown material. It should
be noted that throughout the process of laying the materials, water is always added after each layer of
brown materials.
Step 4: Put a 5 -10 cm thick layer of manure. The manure is the main source of nitrogen and the amount
to put is largely guided by the thickness of the brown layer and the quality of manure. The idea is to
achieve the desired Carbon/Nitrogen ratio in the compost heap.
Step 5: Add a 10 – 15 cm thick layer of fresh materials (greens), preferably legumes. This layer helps to
kick-start the microbial activity by providing readily available food to the microbes.
Step 6: Sprinkle some forest soil or mature compost to the heap to introduce beneficial microbes. This
step is optional. After step 5 or step 6 repeat the process starting with Step 2 – the browns. Continue
until the heap is about 1.5 m high.
Step 7: Cover the whole heap with a layer of grass to protect from direct sunlight and rains. If the heap
is made under a shade and there is no danger of rain, then it might not be necessary to cover the heap.

a. Step 8: Take a long, sharp stick and drive it into the pile at an angle. After two to three days,
decomposition should have started in the pile. The stick, when removed, will be warm to hot.
The stick helps to check on the conditions of the pile from time to time. It will show if the pile is
hot or cold, wet or dry. After step 8, the process of making the heap is complete.
Turning the compost
After the compost-heap making process has been completed, the heap needs to be turned
regularly. The temperature in the compost heap is the key determinant of the composting
process and a good guide as to when to turn or correct any observed problems. Two to three
days after making the compost heap, remove the inserted stick and immediately place it on the
back of your hand. Based on how hot the stick feels, the following can be done:
a) If the stick feels warm or hot and the smell is good, the temperature is normal for the
compost and good decomposition has started.
b) If the stick feels cool or cold and there is a foul smell, the temperature is too low for good
decomposition. This might mean either that the materials are too dry or there is insufficient
N-rich materials. Use the squeeze test to check if there is adequate moisture. If the
moisture is enough, then the problem is that of insufficient Nitrogen. Turn the compost and
add more Nitrogen-rich materials.
c) If the squeeze test produces two to three drops of water, there is sufficient moisture. If
there are no water drops, then the moisture in the heap is insufficient, turn the compost
heap and add water as you turn especially after the dry layers are turned.
d) If the stick is warm and wet, and there is a bad smell like ammonia, this indicates that there
is too little air and/or too much water in the compost. The materials will be rotting and not
making a good compost. Collect some more dry plant materials and/or some old dry
compost. While turning the compost, add these materials.
e) If the stick feels too hot and can’t be held continuously for a few seconds, it might mean
there is too much N-rich material and the inner of the heap is burning or about to burn. Turn
the compost and add more brown materials immediately.
f) If the compost heap is heating-up normally, turning should be done 10-14 days after
building the heap. The best way to determine when to turn is by constantly checking the
stick. If after reaching the peak temperature normally about 65 to 700C, the temperature of
the stick starts dropping, then you know that it is time to turn. Turning is done by putting
the top layers down and turning the material in the centre outward while the outside
material should go towards the centre. The materials will decompose faster if the compost
 pile is turned regularly. Spray the heap as you turn with a fine mist of water. The compost
should be ready after the fourth turning or approximately six to eight weeks.

Note: although it is always preferred to have well-decomposed compost, we should know that compost
that has undergone the full decomposition process is very good for adding organic matter to the soil, but
normally has a low nutrient content and might not provide the soil life with the food that they need. At
times it is preferable to have partially decomposed compost as it has a higher concentration of
nutrients and might provide the microbes in the soil with food (decomposable organic matter) that they
need.

EXTRACTS AND TEAS

Animal manure, compost, green manures and other solid organic inputs have a limitation when it
comes to the quick release of plant nutrients. The term “slow releasing fertilizer” is normally used to
refer to these materials. The major advantage of releasing nutrients slowly is that these materials help
protect plant nutrients from loss due to leaching and other mechanisms and avail the nutrients to plants
slowly. There are, however, times when the crop needs nutrients quickly such that the solid organic
inputs are unable to release them on time. In such cases compost or manure extracts become very
handy.
Compost and manure extracts
Compost and manure extracts are liquid fertilizers prepared by soaking compost, animal manure or
nutrient-rich leafy materials in water for a number of days. During the preparation of the extracts,
nutrients dissolve in water. The idea behind the making of extracts is to supply nutrients to the crop in a
readily-available form so that crops can quickly take them up.
Note: Compost tea is very similar to extracts in that it is also a liquid input. However, compost tea differs
from extracts in that the primary purpose of making teas is not to supply soluble nutrients, but rather to
supply beneficial microorganisms. The making of compost teas is an aerobic process that requires
constant supply of oxygen. Additionally there is also need to add microbial food source such as
molasses, kelp (sea weed ash), rock dust that are added to the tea to boost microbial growth and
activity. In this handout, teas are not discussed in details.
The process of making extracts
Extracts can be made from compost, animal manures, plant materials or a combination of two or all of
these materials. Plant materials that make good extracts are leaves from green manure crops (velvet,
jack beans, etc.); leaves from agroforestry species (26unhemp26r, Moringa, Leucaena, Sesbania); and at
times non-leguminous plants such as Comfrey and Tithonia that are known to contain a lot of plant
nutrients.
The following is a step-by-step guide that was followed on how to make extracts:

1. Put 20-30kg of manure/compost/desired leaves in a porous bag

2. Suspend the bag from a stick laid across the top of a 210 litre drum
3. Fill the drum with water. The bag should be completely submerged in the water.
4. Shake the bag 2-3 times a day by moving the stick suspending the bag up and down (for
increased release of nutrients in water and for aeration).
5. Cover the drum with a material that can keep out flies, but allows aeration.
6. Keep the sack under the water at all times
7. The extract should be ready to use after 7 to 15 days.
8. The residues of compost, manure or leaves in the sack can be used as input in the compost heap
or in the field.

Application of extracts

The extract can be drenched on the crop by applying it to the base of the crop using a knap sack sprayer
whose nozzle has been removed. In case one does not have a knap sack sprayer, a bucket and a cup can
be used.

There is hardly a danger of over-applying extracts as the nutrient concentration is normally below levels
that could endanger plants. The amount to apply per plant or planting station should therefore be
guided by the farmers’ experience depending on the fertility status of the soil and the type of crop.
Other factors to consider are the amount of extract available and the labour requirement for the
application of the extract.
Below are some examples of application rates of extracts:
Field Crops: For crops such as cotton and maize, you can start applying as soon as your crops start
germinating and continue until the crops are mature. In the dry season apply once a week and make
sure the soil is moist at application. Apply twice a week in the rainy season.
Vegetables: You can start applying immediately after transplanting to help plants recover from
transplanting shock. Thereafter, you can continue applying your extract once a week until your
vegetable crop matures.
Benefits of using extracts

 Nutrients are made readily available to crops and are taken up rapidly
 Easy to prepare
 Relatively less labor required
 Prepared from wide range of materials, many of which are locally available
 Extracts can be used to overcome problems of leaching as nutrients are supplied in small but
readily available amounts.

Note: extracts alone may not be enough to sustain good plant growth hence should be used in
combination with other soil fertility management practices that ensure increase in soil organic matter
such as compost, animal manure, green manure, and others.

GREEN MANURE/COVER COPS

There is no clear distinction between green manures (GMs) and cover crops (c.c.). A cover crop is a crop
grown specifically to protect and/or enrich the soil rather than for short economic gains. However, when
the cover crop is either turned into the soil at flowering or cut and left on the soil surface while still
green, it is called a green manure.

Benefits of using Green Manure /Cover Crops

 It is a good alternative or supplement to the use of compost or animal manure – green manures
are a good way of improving and maintaining soil fertility especially for farmers who do not have
livestock or cannot make compost.
 Green manures, just like compost, animal manures and other organic means of managing soil
fertility, improve the soil organic matter content and thus can impart all the good properties to
the soil as highlighted in section 2.
 As opposed to the use of animal manure and compost, green manures/C.C.s can additionally
provide soil cover and thus play key functions in crop production such as:
 Reduction of water evaporation and soil temperature
 Increased water infiltration
 Protection of soil from erosion
 Suppression of weeds
 Provision of suitable habitat for soil life
 Create good environment for beneficial insects thus playing a role in the reduction of pests and
diseases.
 Seed for green manures/cover crops can be sold to give farmers some additional income. From
the agronomic point of view, soil fertility is improved more when the Green
Manure/Cover .Crops is cut prior to, or just at flowering. However, for economic reasons, it is
common to harvest the seed and only return the remaining biomass to the soil.
 Some deep-rooted green manure/cover crops will help to break the hard pan and bring
nutrients that were washed to deeper regions of the soil close to the surface where they can be
used by shallow-rooted crops.
 Some Green Manure/Cover Crops can be used as feed for livestock and others are even
consumed by humans.

Crops used as green manure/cover crops

A key characteristic of green manure or cover crops is that they are legumes. A special trait of legumes is
that bacteria living in their roots are able to fix (incorporate) nitrogen from the air into the soil. The
nitrogen is then held in the plant. The fixed nitrogen is then availed to the following crop when the
legume dies and decomposes. Legumes to be used as green manures can either be edible or inedible.
One needs to note however, that there is always a challenge with the use of edible legumes as green
manures or cover crops due to the harvesting of the grain which reduces the amount of nutrients the
particular green manure/cover crop will return to the soil.

The green manure/cover crops that were planted at Mulanje include:

a) Velvet beans
b) Red sunhemp
c) Pigeon peas
d) Cowpeas
e) Tephrosia and
f) Green gram

AGROFORESTRY

On this topic, we defined Agroforestry as the integration of trees and shrubs with crops and animals in
farming systems in order to sustain production for increased social, economic and environmental
benefits for farmers at all levels.We also learnt about Fertilizer trees (how fertilizer trees help in the
management of soil fertility), Fodder Banks, Woodlots, Propagation of trees, caring for young
seedlings,Agroforestry and beekeeping, Common agro-forestry practices used in the management of soil
fertility, and many other aspects of agroforestry.Some agroforestry trees that were grown by Kasisi
included Sesbania sesban, Tephrosia vogelii, Cajanus cajan, Gliricidia sepium and Leucaena
leucocephala, and Faidherbia albida.Some of the Agroforestry Tree gown at Kasisi

SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION

This was one of the most interesting lessons because soil and water are very important resources
without which agricultural production would not be possible. There is, therefore, need to use and
manage these resources in a sustainable manner. The following topics were discussed:

What conservation means, importance of soil and water conservation, Principles of soil and water
conservation (Disturb the soil as little as possible, Cover the soil as much as possible, Mix and rotate
crops), and practices used in soil and water conservation (Minimum tillage, Zero tillage, Contour
principle, Maximum soil cover, Conservation basins and many others), and the Benefits or importance of
soil and water conservation.
CHALLENGES
Inadequate Transport The ministry of Agriculture did not have its own vehicle as such, we depended on
vehicles from other ministries to execute own duties.
Funding
The organization did not receive any funding during my time of internship. The organization was hence
assisted by the office of the District Commissioner who provided resources for the organization to
execute the duties especially the deep bed farming project.
CONCLUSION
The internship program was worth its purpose as it pre-exposed me to real field situations and prepared
me to face the agricultural work challenges and workload more diligently. At first, things sounded tough
and unrealistic, however, later on, all was well and the whole Programme became meaningful. I
acquired a lot of knowledge in organic crops production (vegetable, fruits, and field crops), how to make
organic fertilizers (compost, teas, and green manure), how to control pest in organic agriculture, and
many others. The knowledge I gained instlled confidence in me and encouraged me to study more and
know more about Agriculture. I also leant to be a hard worker and to behave responsibly as a role model
in order to be the best Agriculturist. The internship started on 20th August and ended on 20th
November, 2018.
RECOMMENDATION
Having successfully completed the internship (field attachment) programme, I would like to recommend
to the Management of the Agri-Science Department, no lecturer came for monitoring. However, the
department must realise the importance monitoring students on attachment.The Deep-Bed Farming
system approach has significantly contributed towards improving yields which has helped to eradicate
food shortages and provide increased household income to smallholder famers who have adopted the
system. This achievement is due to Tiyeni Deep-Bed Farming project approach of working collaboratively
and supporting existing agriculture extension workers within the impact area. Therefore, it is highly
recommended that a good working relationship between the Tiyeni organization and existing extension
agents in the impact area should continue for the benefit of the smallholder farmers. The use of organic
manure as opposed to full use of artificial fertilizer should be promoted as it has proven to be the
catalyst of bumper yields in smallholder fields.