Land preps behind schedule

Elita Chikwati Agriculture Reporter
Preparations for the 2015 summer cropping season are lagging behind as farmers are not certain about the rainfall patterns. Most peri-urban farmers are going ahead with land preparation while communal and resettled farmers are yet to start land preparation.

Inputs suppliers have also confirmed that there is a low uptake of seed and fertilisers as farmers wait anxiously for a start to the rainy season. Fertiliser industry spokesman and Chemplex Corporation chief executive Mr Misheck Kachere on Wednesday said the uptake of fertiliser was still low.

“We are concerned with the low uptake of fertiliser.

“Maybe it is because of the weather patterns.

“We expect sales to increase when the rains start,” he said.

Zimbabwe National Farmers Union president Mr Garikayi Msika said only those farmers with irrigation equipment had started planting.

“Last season some farmers did not have good returns and are afraid of another drought.

“Farmers with irrigation facilities are preparing for the season, while others have started planting but these are very few.

“We have seen a decline in tobacco farmer registrations and this could be due to the bad weather.

Besides drought, the marketing side of other crops has also affected preparations.

“Some farmers produced maize last year and only received their money this month and this will obviously cripple their preparations,” he said.

Mr Msika expressed gratitude to Government for intervening in the cotton sector to boost Cottco and save the industry from collapsing.

“Government is also assisting all cotton growers with inputs for a quarter hectare and this is a significant move to revive the sector,” he said.

Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers’ Union president’, Mr Wonder Chabikwa said by this time in the past seasons farmers would have finished land preparations.

“There is low activity in most farming areas except for peri-urban farmers who are busy with land preparation.

“The other challenge is that the agricultural sector has gone for long without medium to long-term funding and this is not conducive for farming,” he said.

“Subsistence farmers can grow food but commercially, we are facing challenges.

“We have told farmers to grow small season varieties and small grains, but there is need for irrigation.

“Most irrigation facilities are down,” he said.

“We applaud Government for the Brazil More Food Programme, which has seen a number of irrigation schemes being resuscitated.

“This will go a long way in boosting agricultural productivity,” he said.

Mr Chabikwa urged financial institutions to assist farmers in resuscitating irrigation facilities.

Zimbabwe Indigenous Women Farmers’ Association Trust president Mrs Depinah Nkomo said by the same time last year, most farmers had finished ploughing and disking but this year the situation was different.