adminSharon Munjenjema
A team of experts from the Zimbabwe National Geospatial and Space Agency (ZINGSA) is finalising research that will culminate in remapping the country’s agro-ecological regions according to new weather patterns.
The exercise was last carried out in 1962.
After the report is released, ZINGSA experts will launch a mobile application that will aid farmers across the country to identify appropriate agriculture inputs for specific areas.
Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development Minister Professor Amon Murwira told The Sunday Mail that the report will be released this month.
“They are now finalising. The last round of validation workshops are set for next week (this week). The report will be available for the public next month (March).
“The evidence is pointing towards drastic changes in the agro-ecological regions. In actual fact, it is explaining why sometimes yields are not as much as we expect because some seed varieties that are grown in an area that is thought to be (farming) Region Four, for instance, do not thrive because the area now falls under Region Five,” he said.
Minister Murwira said several researches done by scientists from local universities in recent years have also show marked changes in the country’s weather patterns.
“Local scientists’ researches are showing that the start of rainfall season has since shifted by about two months since the 1980s. These (Meteorological Services Department forecasts) are just predictions. That is why we want to have a satellite so that such predictions can be more accurate,” he said.
Government is moving towards precision agriculture, which leverages on information technology to facilitate optimum conditions for crop productivity.
Local agriculture’s contribution to the economy has progressively declined from 21 percent in 1985 to 10 percent in 2017.
It rose marginally to 12 percent in 2018.
Changing rainfall patterns
A 2018 study by University of Zimbabwe scientists indicated that the probability of rains starting between mid-December to January has increased to about twice in every five-year period.
Previously, rains were expected from late October to early November in most parts of the country, with late or erratic rains occurring once in almost every 10 years.
In order to best equip local farmers with knowledge that will increase their output, scientists from ZINGSA’s surrogate institutions are working on a free mobile application that will inform farmers of the farming regions.
The application will also provide information on the specific seed varieties and fertiliser requirements for specific areas, as well as the appropriate time to apply them.
Minister Murwira said this new farming concept will go a long way in improving national agricultural yields.
Precision agriculture is also a site-specific crop management farming method based on satellite observation.
Currently, there are five recognised agro-ecological regions in Zimbabwe.
Region One – situated in the eastern parts of the country – receives more than 1 050 millimetres rainfall per year.
Some areas under this ecological region receive rains throughout the year.
Harare and parts of Mashonaland East, West and Central provinces fall under Region 2, which receives 700mm to 1 050mm of rainfall per year, confined to summer.
Region Three, which mainly covers the Midlands and some parts of Manicaland and Mashonaland provinces, receives 500mm to 700mm of rainfall per year.
The area is also subject to infrequent heavy rainfall as well as seasonal droughts.
Region Four and Five are the driest, receiving 450mm to 600mm and less than 500mm of rainfall yearly, respectively.
The southern parts on the country mainly fall under Region Four and Five.
Poor soils also characterise the regions.
A change in climatic conditions over the years has resulted in a shift of these agro-ecological regions.
ZINGSA is also working towards surveying all soils in the country using satellites in order to produce a map with specific soil types for specific areas.
This project will also extend to mapping land, providing clear demarcations for farms to pave way for the issuance of 99-year leases.
Online Reporter