Farmers bemoan incessant rains

MANICALAND farmers risk losing their targeted crop yields because of excessive water-logging in fields as a result of the current incessant rains.

Some farmers in Makoni district say their fields are partially submerged in water.

“I am frustrated with the state of my fields,” said a Rusape farmer, Mr Slyvester Manhire. “We prayed for the rains during the dry spell, but ever since the rains came, they have been falling continuously and, as we speak, part of my field is flooded and the prospect of reduced yields is very high.

“Right now, my tobacco crop is rotting in the field.”

Over the last few weeks, the country has experienced a lot of rain, with most fields in the province experiencing flooding.

It is feared that the incessant rains might affect both the quality and quantity of the crops.

“My maize crop is slowly turning yellow, as the excess water is washing away all nutrients, hence the quality of my maize crop has been affected,” said Mrs Chipo Rukandi from Odzi.

Tobacco farmers have tried to help their situation by harvesting the crop.

Zimbabwe Farmers’ Union (ZFU) provincial manager for Manicaland Mr Daniel Mungazi confirmed that they had received reports of fields that are submerged in water.

He conceded that areas with poor drainage had been the most affected.

Mr Mungazi encouraged farmers to adopt methods that could help them protect their crops.

“In an ideal situation, early planting would go a long way in mitigating the effects of water-logging or continuous rainfall, as even in a case where the rains are continuous, crops are able to withstand an increase in either the intensity or the amount of rainfall,” he said.

“The logic behind this is that even if rains become excessively abundant, crops would probably have reached maturity stage.”

Meanwhile, Obert Chifamba resports that Government had been urged to consider investing in the production of cheaper chemicals used in the control of the fall armyworm, as this might help farmers cut the cost of production.

In an interview with The Herald in Mutare on Tuesday, Manicaland provincial agricultural extension officer Mrs Philipa Rwambiwa said the current regime of chemicals being used for controlling the pest were effective, but expensive for most resource-poor farmers.

“We are saying the chemicals farmers are using to fight the pest are very effective if applied properly and at the correct time, but it is the cost of acquiring them that is making it difficult for farmers to win the battle against fall armyworm,” she said.

“Chemicals like Ecoterex, Super Dash, Ampligo and Belt, to name just a few, which most farmers are using, are very effective, but not many of them can afford them, so it will be better if they can get cheaper alternatives.”

Mrs Rwambiwa said the problem of the fall armyworm was likely to stay for as long as their breeding cycles allowed their populations to multiply rapidly within shortest possible period.

“The female lays up to 1 000 eggs or more, so imagine all those eggs developing into mature pests that will feed on plants — the destruction levels will be catastrophic,” she said.

Mrs Rwambiwa said Agritex had trained farmers on scouting for the fall armyworm, including campaigns on the dangers posed by the pest.

According to Mrs Rwambiwa, the unpredictable weather patterns were also worrying.

“As the situation stands, it is very difficult to tell if the season will extend beyond the normal time it should be ending to make up for the months of December and January when there is little or no rainfall at all,” she said.

“This month, the rains have been persistent, but that may not save all the crops — some had already been damaged beyond hope . . . “