The drought affected every farmer in Zambia in a bad way, but according to Parick Muchimba, Irrigation Technical Manager from Amiran, there is something significant to learn from the season.

“A water shortage forces farmers to look at their water supply with a different view. It makes them wiser, as they manage to figure out smarter ways to use their water more efficiently. The only way to do that is with more efficient irrigation systems. This is where Amiran comes in. Amiran supplies a wide variety of irrigation systems such as sprinklers, driplines from Netafim, overhead, micro and pivot irrigation from Zimmatic. We also advise farmers on the best application for their needs and train them how to use it after installation. For the small-scale and emerging farmers, drip irrigation kits will allow them to cope with the drought and maintain income and food security,” he says.

Amiran Zambia is a subsidiary of Balton CP based in the UK. It has two main divisions – Agriculture and Technology/Communications. In the agricultural sector, Amiran provides irrigation systems and spares, and also a full range of crop protection chemicals (such as herbicides and pesticides), specialised fertilisers for high value crops, seed and seedlings.

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The nursery department supplies vegetable seed and seedlings, including a range of tomatoes, cabbage and onions for undercover or open field farms. Most of Amiran’s high quality seed is imported from countries like Israel.

All of Amiran’s products comply with local and international quality assurance controls such as ZEMA certification.

Amiran has its own outlets in Lusaka, Kitwe, Choma and Mkushi, but also works with a number of agro-dealers around the country. “We try to meet everyone in their localities,” Parick says.

Contact Amiran at +26 (0)96-686-0751, +26 (0)96-648-5292 or send an e-mail to clients.zambia@baltoncp.com. Their physical address is Plot 9362, Mumbwa Road, Lusaka, or visit their website at www.amiranzambia.com for more information.