Rains brighten new year prospects

THERE is growing consensus that the El Niño weather phenomenon, which was largely expected to induce drought in this part of the world, would not be as severe as initially projected.

The generous rains received since the beginning of the year are lifting spirits and raising expectations of better-than-expected harvests in agriculture.

Decent harvests would not only guarantee both household and national food security, but drive the country’s economy and add impetus to the overall objective of Vision 2030, which is premised on creating a highly industrialised and prosperous country that enjoys high standards of living.

It must be remembered that the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion upwardly reviewed the economic growth estimate to 5,5 percent in 2023 on account of record production in wheat and tobacco, among others.

Lest we get ahead of ourselves, it is important to note that no one knows for sure how the season will pan out.

But what we know is that the best way to build the future is to create it.

Clearly, Zimbabwe has done the best it can to make its own luck.

While we have made significant strides to wean ourselves from rainfed agriculture, the adoption of conservation farming methods has been hugely rewarding.

Most encouragingly, our farmers, through their experiences over past cropping seasons, have realised that climate-proofing agriculture — through Pfumvudza/Intwasa — is the sure way forward, especially in the wake of climate change.

For example, during the 2023/2024 summer cropping season, farmers have doubled their Pfumvudza plots to 11,3 million, up from 5,5 million a year earlier.

The increase in the hectarage under irrigation has also allayed fears and anxieties that come with relying on the rains.

But there have been concerted and targeted efforts to promote seed that is specific to the country’s agro-ecological regions as well as short-season varieties and traditional grain.

Overall, all these interventions are designed to temper the impact of adverse weather conditions.

The importance of the agriculture sector cannot be overemphasised as it is the lifeblood of our economy.

It is the sun around which our lives revolve.

It provides sustenance for most of our farmers who live in rural areas and supplies the much-needed feedstock to industry, which is currently on a growth path.

It also ensures the health of the country’s finances through cutting imports.

So, a good outturn in agriculture, which is a corollary of good rains, would likely put the country’s ambitious plan to establish an upper middle-income economy by 2030 back on the rails.

President Mnangagwa has already expressed his desire to achieve the set targets ahead of time.

Without the distractions that come with having to deal with an emergency related to drought, the country can better invest its energy and resources in development.

The recent rains are also lifting expectations that we might get decent water allocations from Kariba to generate the electricity needed to power our economy.

A recent report from the Zambezi River Authority (ZRA), which manages water in the river on behalf of both Zimbabwe and Zambia, indicated that, despite the late onset of the rainy season, the water level at Lake Kariba had risen to 477,35 metres as of January 2, compared to 475 metres in the same period a year ago.

The increase was attributed to increased rainfall activity in the catchment.

“The lake level is rising due to increased rainfall activity on the lake and immediate catchment, closing the period under review at 477,25m (12,11 percent usable storage) on 2nd January 2024, compared to 475,63m (0,97 percent usable storage) recorded during the same date last year,” said ZRA then.

With the new Hwange Power Station’s Unit 7 and 8 now consistently feeding 600MW into the national grid, it means prospects of long hours of loadshedding are dim.

So, this year might turn out to be better than what some people would have us believe.

We must keep believing and stay the course to achieve the future that we all want and deserve.