The Sunday News
Mesabe Ncube Farming Reporter
FARMERS in Matabeleland South have raised a red flag calling on the Government to start mobilising resources to buy food for people in the province as indications are that there will be a drought this season since most crops have succumbed to a dry spell.
Farmer unions said in some areas, some farmers have failed to plant and it was highly unlikely that they can do so in February even if rains are received.
Zimbabwe Farmers’ Union president Mr Abdul Nyathi, who comes from Matabeleland South, said the Government should start mobilising resources to feed the people in the region as it was likely that they will not harvest enough.
“Since the signs are already showing that farmers in the southern regions may not harvest anything, it would be wise for Government to start mobilising resources to carry them to the next farming season,” he said.
Mr Nyathi also said affected farmers will also need to be assisted with farming inputs for the next farming season.
“There won’t be anything for these farmers at harvest time and that means they won’t even have crops to sell to get money for seed and fertiliser for the next farming season, hence the need for assistance,” he said.
Mr Nyathi also said crops in the affected areas may never recover even if the areas received rains now.
“Even if it rains now, most of the crops in Matabeleland South will not recover because some were either encroaching or already in the permanent wilting stage,” he said, adding that drinking water was the only benefit farmers could look forward to if it rains.
Acting Matabeleland South provincial agricultural extension officer Mr Judiah Ncube said crops have been badly affected although it was difficult to come up with the extent of the loss at this stage.
“We are going to have a crop and area assessment programme in a week, after which we will have a yield assessment,” said Mr Ncube.
According to Mr Ncube, most of the crops at vegetative stage had reached the temporary wilting point while the early crops at the tasselling stage could collapse if the dry spell continues.
A farmer from Figtree in Bulilima District, Mr Nkathazo Maseko, concurred with Mr Nyathi saying he was disappointed that all his efforts and resources would not yield anything.
“I spent a lot of money buying farming inputs and hiring tractors for farming and now I am disappointed to see my crops wilting,” he said.
Mr Maseko also said they hoped the area will receive rains even later to save pastures and water for both human and livestock.
Officials said the most affected areas include Lubhangwe, Sinkamaswe, 2D1, Mahongola and those that fall under Matobo District.
Matabeleland South Province is classified under region five with erratic rainfalls that have in the past led to droughts.
Last year parts of the province which include Beitbridge, Gwanda, Matobo and Mangwe suffered the same fate as their early crops gave in to a similar dry spell.
However, other parts of that region managed to get a good harvest after receiving substantial rainfall.
Some parts of Matabeleland North and urban farmers who had increasingly become dependent on farming as a source of livelihood are also crying foul as they watch their crops slowly giving in to the heat.
Some, however, are still hopeful that the situation may be able to turn around if the rains come back anytime this week.
“We can see the early signs of stress but if it rains before the end of this week, our maize crop is going to recover,” said Mr Zenzo Bhebhe a resettled farmer from Lonsdale in the Nyamandlovu area.
Experts have always said rain-fed agriculture in dry areas was unreliable calling on the Government and development partners to prioritise irrigations.
In his budget for this year Minister of Finance Cde Patrick Chinamasa said the Government and development partners through the Food and Agriculture Organisation have established a framework to resuscitate and install irrigation infrastructure on 80 schemes out of the country’s 337 schemes.
Matabeleland South and Manicaland are the major beneficiaries of the programme which is expected to cost $7,5 million between 2013 and 2016.
