Joy as heavens weep
IT is back to positivity! Those who were cursing the heavens and painting a gloomy picture of the country’s agricultural prospects have been left with egg on their faces.
Though still too early to sing and dance about, the rains that have been received in most parts of the country have brought huge smiles to many.
The fact that the heavens are weeping allows the soils to remain wet and capable of nourishing various crops committed to them.
Agriculture is big business in Zimbabwe. In fact, its economy is agro-based.
A huge percentage of the landlocked nation’s population is employed in the sector and downstream
industries.
Most rural communities rely on agriculture for sustenance and whenever it does not rain adequately, they feel their resilience being tested in the most difficult way.
Temperatures that had become extremely high, hovering around 44 degrees Celsius, have dipped to comfortable levels, allowing citizens to work for their families.
Prices of food were already rising on the informal market, where speculation had taken root.
It is everyone’s hope that it will continue raining, forcing unscrupulous dealers to see sense in correctly pricing their products and services.
“Oh . . . God is great! Mwari vaita zvavo nekuti kwanga kwapisa,” I heard elderly women saying while hoeing their fields on the outskirts of Glen Norah last weekend.
“When it rains, we get wild vegetables like nyevhe, chiribwiribwi, mowa and hondora. We even pick up edible mushrooms to sustain our families. Delicacies like ishwa, majuru, tsambarafuta and makurwe will also be in abundance. I had completely lost hope that we would enjoy these, let alone muboora,” said Gogo Miriam Shereni while wiping off beads of sweat from her furrowed brow with the back of her hand.
“I am grateful it has rained at last and we are assured of a steady supply of wild vegetables and other delicacies associated with the wet season,” she continued.
Her colleague, Gogo Sharon Munemo, said: “This week, I am not going to miss my Sunday church service
to thank Yahweh, who has been merciful to us. I look after my six orphaned grandchildren and I had nowhere to start. Now that it has rained, I will do my best to at least harvest a substantial yield. Mwari variko.”
On the social front, the onset of the rains has brought couples together after they had been separated by extremely hot temperatures.
The situation made it impossible for any reasonable person to share blankets with their loved ones.
Temperatures had become so unbearably hot that people were retiring to bed with their windows open, exposing themselves to mosquitoes, thieves and other predators.
Rains mean a lot to everyone because water is life.
Farmers were already counting their losses as they watched helplessly their crops showing signs of moisture stress.
Jobs were under threat due to the
unavailability of rains to produce more.
Already, livestock farmers in the country’s southern part were losing cattle to the effects of drought, especially lack of pastures and water.
Maize is Zimbabwe’s principal food crop.
According to a June 2022 Foreign Agricultural Service grain and feed annual report, Zimbabwe’s maize crop for the marketing year 2022/2023 was estimated to be 1,6 million tonnes — 43 percent less than the 2,7 million tonnes produced in the marketing year 2021/2022.
In 2021, the share of agriculture in Zimbabwe’s gross domestic product was 8,85 percent, industry contributed approximately 28,81 percent and the services sector contributed about 56,64 percent.
We pray that it continues raining for the good health and nutrition of the citizens of our beloved motherland.
Inotambika mughetto.