Livestock manure improves mahangu yields

Namibian rangeland expert Axel Rothauge says livestock manure is a good source of nutrients for soil and can help communal farmers improve mahangu production. He welcomes the efforts of communal farmers who are preparing their mahangu fields for the rainy season by spreading animal manure to improve soil fertility. Rothauge says manure from livestock kraals contains nutrients that help crops grow. He says manure from goats and sheep is better than cattle manure and should be spread more thinly to avoid damaging crops.

“But kraal manure is an excellent plant nutrient and a good way of building soil fertility. ” Rothauge says communal farmers, however, face challenges because there is not enough manure to fertilise their large mahangu fields. He says transporting manure from livestock kraals to fields is another challenge. “They also face the challenge of logistics such as transport to get the manure from the kraal to the fields,” he says. Rothauge says he has studied different ways of applying livestock manure to mahangu fields in recent years. One method is to place a livestock kraal inside a mahangu field and move it to another part of the field every six…