Call on farmers to adapt to climate changes

Responding to questions sent by Chronicle yesterday, Meteorological Services Department duty forecaster, Mr Tich Zinyemba said it would, however, not be prudent on the part of the Meteorological Services Department to suggest on the adequacy of the rains for the rest of the cropping season.
Mr Zinyemba said actual weather patterns and model projections suggested that the coming few days, at least up to early next week, should be generally wet.

“It is expected that in some areas, particularly south of Manicaland and parts of Matabeleland North and South, rainfall amounts in excess of 50 millimetres in 24 hours will occur.
“These heavy rains are then expected to spread northwards into Mashonaland provinces,” he said.
Mr Zinyemba said most areas have had some “useful rain” from 24 December, with heavier rains falling along the central watershed and Masvingo province.
Some of the notable falls that were recorded at Meteorological Stations on 24 December across the country show that Harare received 54mm, Zaka 45mm, Chipinge 41mm while Mount Darwin received 30mm.
Yesterday, the only notable falls recorded across the country were 26mm in Gweru, 13mm at Gokwe followed by 11mm at Lupane.

Mr Zinyemba said it should be appreciated that weather advisories remain in the realm of probabilities and as such it would be impossible to forecast rainfall distribution for the remainder of the season.
“Having said that, the seasonal forecast already issued                     by the Meteorological Services Department suggested that for January, February and March, the rainfall situation would  exhibit a normal to above normal rainfall trend for much of the country.

“We are currently working on verifying whether or not the position still remains the same after inputting the latest data. Advisories will be issued accordingly early in January 2012,” said Mr Zinyemba.
He said members of the public should remember that the Meteorological Services Department is not in a position to forecast the rainfall distribution from one area to the next but could only give a country perspective.

Meanwhile, farmers have been challenged to continue planting despite the erratic rains being experienced in the country.
In an interview yesterday, Zimbabwe Farmers’ Union deputy president Mr Abdul Nyathi urged farmers to take note of the climatic changes and revise their farming techniques.
“The issue of climate change should not deter farmers from planting. We should work hard and continue with planting so that when rains come they find our crops ready.

“Most crops require a minimum of three months to mature and that means farmers can continue planting up to February next year and still get good yields,” said Mr Nyathi.
Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union (ZCFU) Matabeleland South chairman Mr Earnest Ndlovu, expressed satisfaction with progress in planting.
He also urged farmers to work hard in order to improve yields.

“Although the rains delayed most people in the province are busy planting and crops have germinated. Grass for livestock is also there.
“We have few places in Bulilima West that are still dry because of insignificant rains. We however, have a challenge of draught power. There are few tractors and those that are available are too expensive for farmers,” said Mr Ndlovu.

Bubi Member of the House of Assembly Cde Clifford Sibanda also said farmers in his constituency were busy planting.
He, however, said some farmers were facing challenges in accessing inputs because of transport problems.

“Planting has taken off very well. We are very grateful for the inputs support we received this year, especially from President Mugabe. This time inputs were distributed at ward level.
“However, we still have subsidised seed that has not been taken because of the issue of transport. It is very costly for farmers in remote areas such as Siganda and Kenilworth to access the inputs,” said Cde Sibanda.
“We urge the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) to use trucks and sell seed to villagers to enable them to plant early. We also urge farmers to plant small grains that suit the dry weather conditions.”

Cde Sibanda also expressed concern over inadequate tillage service by the District Development Fund (DDF).
“The unfortunate thing about DDF is that it is not able to provide farmers the service they need. Most of their tractors have  broken down and need repair,” he said.

“The problem is the centralised administration of the organisation. Most tractors need minor repairs but the district is not empowered to do that on its own.
“It cannot even solicit for help from local partners. We need a system that will allow us to repair the equipment for ourselves. Right now there is not even a single tractor that is operational at DDF.”