The Sunday News
Judith Phiri, Sunday News Reporter
FARMERS in some parts of the country have said they have not started planting crops for the 2020–2021 planting season due to the high volume of rainfall in their areas.
Zimbabwe’s farmers had an auspicious start to the 2020–2021 planting season, with rains which began in earnest October. But some farmers say they might experience worst food crisis yet, because of widespread flooding which is affecting some parts of the country.
Last month, the Meteorological Services Department (MSD) warned of thunderstorms and heavy rains with floods being expected.
In an interview, a farmer in Kachuta Village in Guruve, Mr Ernest Mandizva said their area is prone to flooding and with the too much rains being received so far, he has been reluctant to plant crops.
“All l have managed to do is clear up the land but l have not planted anything as yet. We are still waiting to see if the rains will stop pouring continuously because that will affect our crops. I usually plant maize, cabbages, tomatoes and onions and l am trying to avoid the worst-case scenario whereby due to water-logging my crops rot,” said Mr Mandizva.
He added that though most of the farmers in his area had planted crops, lower yields were likely to be obtained due to waterlogging in the fields. He revealed that most farmers were poorly-prepared and had no back-up plan.
Matabeleland North provincial principal agronomist Mr Davison Masendeke said that in the event that too much rains that cause floods were to the received in the country, the 2020/21 cropping season was to be affected.
“If it so happens that the rains become too much most farmers that would not have planted will not be able to go out and plant. Those at areas where there are loamy clay soils that retain water for a long time will be affected with water-logging,” said Mr Masendeke.
He added that there was a probability of low-lying areas such as Tsholotsho getting floods if the rains were to be too much.
Mr Masendeke also noted that cropping would mainly be affected by delayed planting and leaching whereby a lot of water washes away plant nutrients from the soil affecting summer crops.
He added: “High weeds pressure will also affect the crops because unweeding will be a challenge to farmers due to continuous rains. Farmers can use herbicides but these are expensive for some, so with water logging or water stagnant on the surface the crops will become pail.”
Matabeleland South provincial agronomist Mr Innocent Nyathi encored the same sentiments and said too much stagnant water bodies due to too much rains would affect crops.
“The 2020/21 cropping season started off as a very good season but there is also issues to do with water logging and leaching. Some farmers who do not have fertilizer to nurture their crops will also lose out because their crops will suffer stagnant growth,” said Mr Nyathi.
He added that there was need for new improved drainage systems as the current designs are not able to remove excess water causing water logging.
However, Mr Nyathi encouraged farmers to also be creative and do water circling in case of rains becoming too much. He said that farmers must be able to do conservation agriculture which involves reduced tillage, permanent soil cover and crop rotations to enhance soil fertility and to supply food from a dwindling land resource.
In the past too much rain has also brought in attacks by pests – the army worm – causing major damage to crops across Zimbabwe, and in several southern African countries, although pesticides were being issued.
Agriculture is the backbone of Zimbabwe’s economy, providing employment and income for 60-70% of the population, supplying 60% of the raw materials required by the industrial sector and contributing 40% of total export earnings, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
