adminThe Rhodesia Herald,
April 21, 1970
THE patchy light rains of the past week or two have come as a mixed blessing for farmers throughout Rhodesia. The showers will benefit some crops, but may cause considerable damage to others.
Crops that will benefit include late-planted maize and cotton that have not been destroyed by the drought.
The extra moisture will prolong the ripening period and will increase potential yields.
Groundnuts, however, face the danger of unseasonal sprouting. The rains may also complicate soya bean harvesting.
The showers are not expected to prolong the growth period for grazing but will certainly slow down the rate of evaporation, which has been high in February and March.
Although both the veld and livestock in most parts of the country are still in fair condition, grazing generally has lost much of its nutritive value.
Cattle are expected to start losing weight earlier this dry season than last year.
Water supplies remain fairly good throughout the country. But there may be problems of shortages towards the end of the dry season in September and October.
LESSONS FOR TODAY
Climate change is real and as Zimbabweans, we need to start accepting this and adjusting our seasons accordingly. Ideally the rain season should have ended in February but we are still getting rains in April.
The country needs to focus more on irrigation as the rains increasingly become erratic and unpredictable.
Durban in South Africa is reeling from floods that have so far claimed more than 450 lives, destroyed infrastructure, with thousands displaced, in just a few days.
Farmers need to take out things like insurance for their crops because the current rains are also affecting yields in different ways.
Online Reporter