‘Train Agritex officers in weather data interpretation’

struggling to interpret and convert weather forecasts to extension messages.
“Most of the experienced staff left during the height of the economic meltdown, which forced us to fill in the void with inexperienced personnel that need a lot of training,” she said.
“With the current climate change problems threatening our agriculture sector, extension workers need to be informed on the information they give to farmers.”
Representatives of farmers’ organisations, Agritex officials, farmers, the Meteorological Services Department and the Agricultural Marketing Authority attended the meeting.
The meeting ran under the theme: “Improving agricultural productivity and marketing for the 2012/13 season”.
Ms Mupandawana said weather forecasts from the Met Department should be converted and re-packaged into languages understandable to farmers.
She urged Government to prioritise the acquisition of field data collecting equipment to improve the coverage of weather developments.
“It is crucial to empower communities to appreciate the benefits of acquiring more recording equipment to capture data on climate change and avoid relying on generalised information that leaves farmers shortchanged,” she said.
The current communication technology, she said, was not up to date.