Farmers must prepare for new season with hope

We are coming from a quite difficult year agriculturally.
According to the Second Round Crop and Livestock Assessment Report that was released recently, the 2021/2022 rainy season started late in December 2021 in most parts of the country. Where it started early, that is in the last week of October to mid-November 2021, it was a false start.

Rainfall distribution was poor in both space and time across the country. There were incessant rains in January followed by prolonged dry spell in the first week of February to the end of March.

The false start of the season resulted in failed crop establishment forcing most farmers to replant a number of times. The late onset caused late plantings which were later affected by the prolonged dry spell at the crops’ reproductive stages causing write offs especially in the central and southern parts of the country.

As a result of the dryness and high temperatures, the report notes, the estimated maize production for 2021/2022 season stands at 1 557 914 tonnes which is a 43 percent decrease from the 2 717 171 tonnes produced in the 2020/2021 season.

Even traditional grains struggled in the heat. Output is estimated at 194 100 tonnes, a 44 percent decrease from 347 968 tonnes in 2020/2021.

Sorghum production was 144 633 tonnes which is 41 percent lower than 244 063 tonnes the season prior. Pearl millet output is 44 143 tonnes, 51 percent less than 90 683 tonnes farmers picked in the 2020/2021 season. Finger millet production was 5 320 tonnes which is a massive 60 percent decrease from 13 223 tonnes produced in the 2020/2021 season.

The total cereal production is 1 752 014 tonnes against a national cereal requirement of 2 267 599 tonnes. Tobacco output is eight percent lower this year than in 2021 while cotton production is 41 percent down. This year soya bean farmers produced 15 percent more than last year.

That is why we say the farming season was challenging and the reason it was like that was late and low rainfall.
As farmers bid goodbye to the 2021/2022 summer agricultural season, they have started preparing for the 2022/2023 one. The Government has pledged to boost the Pfumvudza/Intwasa scheme and other initiatives by increasing the number of participating farmers.

Growers who get assistance under Pfumvudza/Intwasa must have finished preparing their plots by now – that is holing and weed control. They, also must be receiving or soon to receive their input packs. Tobacco farmers are busy with their seedbeds ahead of transplanting of the dryland crop in October/November.

Regional meteorologists, speaking at their traditional annual late August meeting, gave us all reason to be hopeful. They said the bulk of Sadc is likely to receive normal to above-normal rainfall for the period October-November-December 2022 and January-February-March 2023.

However, we note that after the regional forecast, experts in individual countries will proceed to develop country-specific projections.

Indeed, farmers and all of us are hopeful that the regional forecast will turn out to be accurate as it often does – our country receiving normal to above normal rainfall enabling farmers to work hard and reap big at the end of the season.

Article Source: The Chronicle