Fertiliser shortage affects crops in Buhera
SCARCITY, not abundance, best describes the potential harvest in Buhera District. Though the heavens have been generous with the rains, massively improving grazing pastures and water bodies, the fight against hunger and poverty is by no means victorious as very few communal farmers can get a reasonable harvest this season.
The quality of the bulky of the crop is poor due to a combination of leaching of the little available nutrients in the overworked, tired and infertile soils, erratic availability and application of fertilisers, and lack of crop rotation, among other poor agronomic practices bordering on agricultural illiteracy.
The incessant rains triggered severe leaching of nutrients from the soil, and high poverty levels meant families could not afford even a bag of fertiliser to nourish the yellowing crops.
Buhera falls under geological Region Five and the types of crops planted include short season maize varieties, sorghum, groundnuts, round nuts, pearl millet, short-cycle beans, rapoko, pumpkins, sweet potato among others.
The projected harvest, regardless of the fairly distributed rains, will be severely compromised as the crops are yellowing due to nutrients deficiency.
The fall armyworm is also savaging the poor crop. Some of the crop is tussling at knee height, an indication of lack of feed.
Among the hardest hit areas are Birchenough, Zangama, Muzokomba, Masasa, Zvekare, Matsakanure, Mabhoko, Nyadi and Mushongwi, among others.
No surprise Buhera ranks as one of the poorest jurisdictions in the province.
A tour of the district last week saw the news crew coming face-to-face with the harsh realities of poor agricultural production, pest savaged crop, and high levels of poverty. Yes, the daunting, century-old, complex issue — agricultural illiteracy and poverty.
Buhera assistant District Administrator, Mr Elisha Mushayavanhu, said the early rains, which jump-started crop planting had raised expectations for average to above-average crop yields, but now points a possibility of scarcity in the midst of abundance.
“The crop was good, but the condition is worsening due to shortage of fertiliser. The first crop will mature in the next two to three weeks, but the harvest won’t be as expected because the nutrients have not been replenished as farmers do not have fertilisers,” said Mr Mushayavanhu.
“The rains have been good, they have actually improved pastures and water levels in rivers and dams, and there are robust wild vegetables, livestock, wild fruits and deciduous fruits which are also important sources of income effectively helping to strengthen the food security of poor households. “There are also market garden crops at the household level, which are helping to diversify household diets,” he said.
“We have incidence of army worm, which is destroying crops and pastures in Wards 23, 13 and 31. We also need a readily available market for round nuts, which are mainly produced in Buhera South, so that if our farmers sell, they use the proceeds to buy maize,” added Mr Mushayavanhu.
Chief Nerutanga said the whole communal district would not harvest enough grain and the number of those suffering from hunger, malnutrition, and hunger-related diseases was staggering, putting to the fore the need for urgent food aid before the situation recedes into a real and unprecedented mortal threat.
“The situation is bad and the whole district remains vulnerable to severe hunger and there is evidence of malnutrition among children,” said Chief Nerutanga.
Villagers said all planted crops would not reach their full potential due to lack of feed and hunger may force desperate families to sell household assets and livestock to purchase basic food staples.
Mrs Anna Mushayavanhu, who practices mixed cropping on her one-hectare plot, said she was expecting a bumper harvest. She mixes maize with ground nuts, pumpkins, beans, round nuts, cow peas and sweet potatoes.
“I am expecting to harvest about three tonnes, part of which I will sell. This season has been better than the last season, though we did not get adequate basal and top-dressing fertiliser,” said Mrs Mushayavanhu. Mrs Mushayavanhu said because of last year’s drought, breeding livestock were consumed in desperation, and children suffer permanent damage as a result of insufficient food — making hunger and malnutrition the district’s most dangerous twin health risks. Because women bear and nourish children, they have special nutritional needs, but those from this district suffer disproportionately higher rates of malnutrition — which was also having a negative effect on the growth of their children.
Mr Edison Magadza, of Marindire Village under Chief Makumbe, said Government was letting them down by abandoning the construction of Marovanyati Dam.
He said Government should act on initiatives identified by the community to address food and nutritional challenges in the district.
“For the poorest, an increase in domestic agricultural production is key to improving food security. This explains why our expectations were high when the Marovanyati Dam was started. We were happy with the prospects irrigated agriculture to ensure household food security. Since the cessation of the project, people continue suffering yet all we need to do is to harvest water,” he said.
The district has acute water challenges, yet it has two perennial rivers — Save and Mwerihari — cutting through it, making the completion of Marovanyati Dam a top priority. Construction commenced in November 2003 and was expected to be complete in 2009, but the project was suspended in November 2007 due to lack of funding at 40 percent.
Agricultural development based on water conservation and irrigation is often considered a promising avenue for poverty alleviation in rural areas.
An official with a local NGO assisting the district with food aid, said there could be light at the end of the tunnel if Government takes the initiative for irrigated agriculture and farmer training seriously to achieve food security.
Irrigated agriculture provides a powerful management tool against the vagaries of rainfall and makes it economically attractive to grow high-yielding crops and to apply the adequate plant nutrition and pest control required in order to obtain the full potential of seed varieties.
“Irrigation is another option the district can only ignore at its own peril. There is need for irrigation schemes as the only sustainable route to viable food production for the district. Robust water sources need to be in place for communities to engage in self-sustaining projects,” said the official who refused to be named citing organisational protocol. The official said in the absence of robust irrigation facilities, the district needs to shift it attention from maize production.
“Buhera requires other options of livelihoods apart from food agriculture like focus on livestock while their cereals come from elsewhere. Should they be keen on agriculture, then there should be a huge shift to small grains”.
Small-scale and irrigated agriculture with its higher crop yields were likely to have greater impact on the incidence of poverty and malnutrition in the district.