Ntaka is the first independent Soil Testing and Advisory company in Zambia operated by professional soil scientists and using both state-of-the-art and traditional methods. The service seeks to bring learning and precision to the job of soil regeneration and restoration. The creator of Ntaka, Dr Benjamin Warr believes it is important to support farmers in learning about their soils so that they can improve them and secure improved yields at a lower cost. "Measurement can assist in management. The regeneration of the soil must look at the long term health of the soil and not just short term production gains". He emphasizes that to provide advice that is relevant to every farmer it is important to understand the history of cropping, the farmer's circumstances and their plans for the future.
Soils absorb and filter all the water that falls on them before it recharges the underground reserves and rivers that provide us with drinking and irrigation water. Currently, you will notice that the levels of soil degradation country-wide are reaching alarming levels as the ability of soil to filter water is compromised. The soils have become hard and clogged and they are less able to absorb and retain water. The result of this is that for part of the year we now have more runoff water than ever before, causing flash floods country-wide, and for the other part of the year the soils are rock hard and dry.
Ntaka currently has a presence and agents from Chisamba to Mazabuka and is scaling up to cover the entire country. A soil test can help identify critical production challenges. Armed with this information Ben believes that the key to solving the majority of the problems that local small scale farmers face is for them to realise that they have the solutions already in their communities.. They simply have to have confidence in the power of a communal approach to change things and make that first step in taking action. Ntaka is all about helping farmers gain the confidence they need to transition to more productive and sustainable ways of growing food.