adminSenior Farming Reporter
THE Manicaland agriculture sector, largely dominated by resource poor smallholder rural farmers who depend on rain for crop production as they lack irrigation facilities – breathed a sigh of relief after the province received its first fair share of meaningful rains since the start of the summer season in October.
The delays in the rains are a direct result of climate change, which has increasingly manifested itself by increasing the frequency and severity of extreme weather events such as drought – which pose a serious threat to significantly reduce agricultural production and household food security.
Climate change experts are placing the blame for the changing weather patterns on the increasing amount of gases in the atmosphere, especially carbon dioxide.
Carbon dioxide and other gases such as methane and nitrogen – commonly referred to as greenhouse gases – are causing the earth to heat up.
Its severity impact on food self-sufficiency was being felt at household level, and fears abound that the food shortages, in turn, might deteriorate into a famine and a humanitarian disaster.
Climate change continues militating against several interventions by the country to reduce rural poverty, currently estimated at least 70 percent, by improving household food and nutritional security through inputs distribution to poor households.
This has also put to the fore the need for Government to put in place contingency measures such as cloud seeding – a technique of inducing rain from a cloud, usually by dropping suitable particles into clouds containing super cooled water in an attempt to cause them to dissipate. Cloud seeding increases the number of these nuclei available to take greater advantage of the moisture in the cloud and form raindrops that otherwise would not have formed.
The truant rains started pounding the province on Monday, rejuvenating waning hopes among farmers, the majority of whom dwell in rural areas and depend heavily on rain-fed agriculture for food and income.
Agritex head for Manicaland, Mr Godfrey Mamhare, on Wednesday said the greater part of the province received moderate rains, sufficient to recharge soil moisture for planting as well as to revive planted crops that were beginning to wilt in the scotching heat.
Makoni, Odzi, Nyanga, Mutasa, and Chipinge are the hubs of the staple maize production in Manicaland, while Zimunya, Marange, Buhera and the Lowveld – which lie in the rain shadow, are synonymous with small grains and cotton growing given their ability to endure extreme weather conditions.
Mr Mamhare urged farmers to plant short season varieties.
His advice stemmed from observations that the already planted staple maize was miserable as it wilted in the scorching heat of the past two weeks, which raised strong fears within the farming community that the cereal may never reach maturity.
“It is a huge relief, as most farmers were in a panic mode due to the delays (of rain). The greater part of the province received rains starting Monday, and planting is progressing well. We want to advise farmers to settle for short season varieties given the fact that the season started late.
“They should also stagger their planting cognizant of the unpredictability of the rains,” said Mr Mamhare.
Prior to the latest rains, about 70 percent of the province had received deficient or scanty rainfall in October and November.
“The insufficient rainfall has already affected planting of maize, cotton and soya beans. The next two weeks could be crucial as late sowing could hit yields. Farmers must plant expeditiously,” added Mr Mamhare.
And the biggest casualty of the truant rains was bound to grain crop as most farmers had planted tobacco using the early rains.
The meteorological department had predicted above normal rains during the October-December period, but the rainfall was not up to the mark as the first two months of the cropping season had extreme precipitation deficiency. The department’s projections were that except in Region One, normal rainfall will be received during the October-December 2014 period and from late January until end of the season in March, the rainfall should be below normal, suggesting an early end of the season for these two regions.
However, weather officials said such a shortfall in the beginning of the rain season was not uncommon, but farmers maintained that lower than expected rains at this critical juncture in high output producing parts of Manicaland could affect output of a wide range of agriculture commodities – maize, tobacco, cotton, soya beans, livestock and sugar cane. Mr Shupikai Mvurumutiya, of Chikundu Village, in Odzi argued that not only does climate change affect crop production but also water access and availability, human and livestock health and may also cause damage to dwellings and infrastructure.
“This sad development makes information on climate change and its interaction with agriculture important for farmers. Farmers cannot make informed decisions in the absence of such knowledge. Many do not understand this new phenomenon,” he said.
There was a general feeling amongst all the farmers that seasons have become unpredictable and difficult to define compared to the past. Mr Kudakwashe Msindo, a commercial tobacco scholar and maize farmer in Headlands explained that unlike in the past, nowadays it was difficult to know which month fell under which season, because the seasons are now mixed up.
“November and the first half of December used to be cool and wet, but as you can see it is hot instead of being cold. Indications are that the second half of December instead of being hot will be cold and wet, which is very different from the way it used to be in the past,” said Mr Msindo.
Livestock specialist, Mr John Mwandifura, said apart from the impact of reducing crop yields, climate change has also led to an increase in cattle, goats and chickens diseases.
Mr Mwandifura said the burden of livestock diseases has become a major issue because of increasing temperatures and reduced rainfall.
“The drying up of streams has also affected livestock production because now farmers have to walk their livestock long distances to drink water. This results in reduced live-weight overtime because the animals expend most of their energy walking instead of gaining weight,” Mr Mwandifura.
Before 1990, most areas used to receive adequate rainfall for crop production, and the temperatures were normal.
From the early 1990s, farmers started to observe changes in rainfall and temperatures. Rainfall has continued to change in amounts and distribution.
In addition, the rainfall pattern has become more variable with increasing frequency and severity of intra-seasonal droughts and increasing differences across different geographical locations within the zone, even within the same district.
Mr Mamhare said if farmers in these drier areas, who often lack tillage muscle, wish to plant maize, they must then utilise small portions using the conservation farming method.
The method is easily affordable and takes advantage of natural ecological processes to conserve moisture, enhance soil fertility, and improve soil structure, and to reduce soil erosion and the presence of diseases and pests. Conservation farming involves very little soil disturbance, and involves low labour input and its effective utilisation of natural ecological processes.
More than 12 000 farmers in the drought prone Buhera South last year took up conservation farming and meet with success unexpectedly. More have embraced the concept, spearheaded by Goal Zimbabwe in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), after seeing positive aspects of the programme on counterparts who took it up last season.
He said though the method is labour intensive, it has better returns.
Online Reporter