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Elton Manguwo
GOVERNMENT’S crop, livestock and fisheries assessment (CLAFA) exercises may soon be rolled out hassle-free following the coming on board of the private sector to help with funding for logistics, training, supervision and data processing.
This came out during a stakeholder meeting held in Harare yesterday with Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development permanent secretary Dr John Basera saying the success of the CLAFA exercise was dependent on collective effort and commitment from the public, private sector, civil society organisations, development partners and the academia.
“Strengthening coordination and collaboration among different stakeholders through regular meetings and consultations is important in creating a system for robust data collection,” said Dr Basera.
The development comes at a time the CLAFA exercise is affected by numerous problems, which were compromising data quality.
“The CLAFA exercise faces challenges that affect its quality and timeliness. Some of these challenges are inadequate funding for logistics, training, supervision and data processing. The coming in of private players and development partners will see the mobilisation of adequate resources and adoption of innovative approaches to improve the CLAFA exercise,” said Dr Basera.
Some of the possible solutions are in the form of financial and technical support from development partners and private sector players, which will enhance the capacity of enumerators and supervisors through training and provision of equipment, observed Dr Basera.
Seed Co Zimbabwe head of agronomy services Wendy Madzura assured the Government of the private sector’s commitment to complimenting its efforts in developing a more robust agricultural sector, which is data driven.
“We will continue to support the Government through standardisation and harmonisation of data,” she said.
The modernisation and digitalisation thrust smart technologies such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) open data kit and remote sensing from the Zimbabwe National Geospatial and Space Agency (ZINGSA) will be used in conduction future assessments.
CLAFA exercises are important in evaluating the impact of weather, pests, diseases and other factors on crop, livestock and fisheries performance, which will help provide recommendations for policy and planning purposes.
The information will be used for early warning systems and planning for food security.
“Crop and livestock assessment is one of the early warning methods to forecast the national food security status, as it gives a picture of the performance of the agriculture sector and its different sub-sectors,” said Dr Basera.
The CLAFA exercise is conducted four times a year with the first round in late January to early February, the second round end of March to the beginning of April, then the wheat assessment which is conducted from the end of June to July and the post-harvest assessment in August.
Online Reporter