TRADITIONAL FARMING PRACTICES AND WASTEWATER IRRIGATION FARMING IN PERIURBAN, ZAMBIA

Abstract

Studies on urban and peri urban agriculture in Zambia have not adequately tackled issues
pertaining to farming practices in wastewater irrigation farming. The investigated the
farming practices in relation to heavy metal contaminated wastewater irrigated farming at
two peri urban areas in Zambia. The method comprised observation of crop cultivation
activities at field plots located at intervals along transects established in the stratified land
zones at the two study sites namely New Farm in Mufulira and Chilumba Gardens in Kafue.
The results revealed that farming practices were characterised by traditional land
management farming practices and traditional multiple cropping systems which were
influenced by a combination of agro ecological factors as well as availability of heavy metal
contaminated wastewater which has the potential to contaminate soils and crops. The
farming practices were based on adaptation of traditional production systems to peri-urban
wastewater irrigation farming which confirmed the results from other developing countries.