A supplier of agriculture production machinery known as  Farming and Engineering Services (FES) has opened a K2.2 billion modern agriculture laboratory in Blantyre, named AgriLab which used for soil, plant and water analysis to inform fertiliser, irrigation and planting management strategies.

FES Managing Director, Mike Aldworth, outlined that the lab would help commercial farmers to access information on scientific agriculture methods. The factory has opened, months after the government conducted a soil mapping exercise to find suitable fertiliser for specific areas would help boost agriculture production. The government remains optimistic that the soil mapping exercise will help boost agriculture production.

Aldworth also hailed testing and analysis, as it gives recommendations for soil fertility that allows plants absorb optimal amount of nutrients from the soil and from fertilisers applied. Representing the Ministry of Agriculture,  Ketulo Salipira, commended the company for the investment. “This lab will contribute towards improving agriculture productivity because when soil analysis is done; there will be recommendations on type of fertilisers or fertiliser combination. We will boost yields so livelihoods will be improved,” Salipira said.