Online Reporter
Martin Kadzere
Business Reporter
GOVERNMENT must urgently distribute small grains, including sorghum, millet, cowpeas and drought-tolerant maize seed, to insulate production and food security in light of a potential El Niño drought, which may affect the yields of rain-intensive crops, an expert has said.
Dr Kingstone Mujeyi, an agribusiness and food systems specialist at the University of Zimbabwe, urged authorities to scale up climate-smart agriculture, promote conservation farming and strengthen rural extension services to ensure water-efficient methods are adopted.
His warning comes as the southern African region, including Zimbabwe, braces for an El Niño drought that scientists have upgraded to a ‘Super El Niño,’ indicating it will be far more intense than typical occurrences.
A massive rollout of small grains, Dr Mujeyi said, will help insulate farmers from the poor rains associated with the phenomenon and significantly improve crop yields.
“Immediate interventions should focus on protecting agricultural production, reducing food losses, safeguarding livelihoods, and ensuring vulnerable households maintain access to food,” he said.
Dr Mujeyi emphasised that relying solely on rainfall was no longer viable and called for immediate investment to rehabilitate existing irrigation schemes, sink community boreholes, roll out solar-powered irrigation and implement micro-irrigation systems for Pfumvudza conservation plots.
