Online Reporter
Theseus Mauruki Shambare, Agriculture Reporter
THE Government has begun implementing climate adaptation measures ahead of the 2026/27 El Niño season, urging high-producing farmers with access to reliable water sources to increase production to close any expected shortfalls.
Interventions being implemented also include expanding irrigation by 20 000 hectares, to boost food production.
The move comes as early climate models indicate an 80 percent probability of El Niño conditions, increasing the likelihood of below-normal rainfall during the forthcoming summer cropping season.
Agricultural Development Advisory Services (Adas) chief director Mrs Medlinah Magwenzi yesterday said the Government had moved beyond planning and was already implementing measures to cushion farmers against the anticipated climatic shock.
“We have planned and the planning is at an advanced stage. As I speak right now, we have already started executing some of these interventions,” she said.
“We are expanding irrigation facilities so that we have an extra 20 000 hectares under irrigation. We also want high-producing farmers located around reliable water sources to increase production so that we close any potential production gap.”
Mrs Magwenzi said the Government was simultaneously accelerating the dissemination of early warning information to farming communities and ensuring that agricultural inputs are procured on time through collaboration with private contractors and development partners.
“We have already started giving early warning messages to farmers right down to the village level. What is important is not to panic but to plan early, execute early and work with the information that is being provided,” she said.
Mrs Magwenzi said the anticipated El Niño had reinforced the need to scale up climate-smart agriculture, including wider adoption of the Pfumvudza/Intwasa conservation farming model, expansion of irrigation and increased production of drought-tolerant traditional grains.
Farmers in Natural Regions III, IV and V, she said, should prioritise traditional grains instead of maize, while those in higher rainfall areas should plant short-season maize varieties capable of maturing within shorter rainfall windows.
“We don’t expect to see farmers growing maize in Regions III, IV and V. We are encouraging agro-ecological production, where farmers grow crops best suited to their environments,” she said.
Historical data compiled by the Government shows Zimbabwe has experienced nine El Niño events since 1980, with their frequency increasing over the years.
The data indicates that maize production has declined by an average of 51 percent during El Niño years, resulting in average farmer losses of about US$325 million.
During the 2023 El Niño season alone, maize output fell by 72 percent, with estimated losses exceeding US$607 million.
The impact has extended beyond crop production.
More than 44 700 cattle died during the 2023/24 El Niño drought, while the devastating 1991/92 drought resulted in the loss of over one million cattle nationwide.
Mrs Magwenzi said the Government was therefore integrating crop and livestock interventions by establishing fodder reserves, improving water availability at Village Business Units and strengthening extension services across the country.
She said Farmer Field Schools, Master Farmer training programmes and drought mitigation centres would be used to accelerate farmer education, while communities would also be encouraged to harvest rainwater, conserve soil moisture and insure their crops and livestock against climate-related risks.
“We are communicating until everyone is on the same page. We want every household, every village and every district to be prepared so that, regardless of the season, Zimbabwe remains food secure,” she said.
