Time we tame climate change

SADZA is to Zimbabweans what pasta is to Italians, an extension of their identity.

The social importance of the food, made from maize- meal, was aptly captured by novelist and academic Dr Ignatius Mabasa when he named his column in the Kwayedza newspaper, Imbwa Haihukuri Sadza.

The statement, which translates to “a dog does not bark at sadza”, captures the reverence of the staple.

The Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, in the Second Round of its 2021-2022 Crop and Livestock Assessment Report says an average Zimbabwean consumes about 120 kilogrammes of cereals per year, and maize — through sadza accounts for the larger percentage of those figures.

Despite the love people may have for sadza, climate change is threatening to snatch their morsels away from them.

Science shows that the whole Southern Africa region is likely to face challenges producing maize by 2030.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a United Nations body assembled to do research on human-induced climate change says Africa is warming faster than the rest of the world, despite accounting for only 3, 8 percent of greenhouse emissions.

There is scientific consensus that the world is likely to be 1.5 degrees Celsius warmer by 2030, compared to the pre-industrial era.

This, according to the IPCC, is set to disproportionately affect Zimbabwe, which is an agronomy-based economy and might have an effect on food production, especially maize.

“Above 1.5°C global warming concurrent climate extremes will increase risk of simultaneous crop losses of maize in major food-producing regions, with this risk increasing further with higher global warming levels,” the 2022 IPCC report summary said.

Climate change expert Dr Leonard Unganai, reckons unless there are corrective measures taken at a global scale to mitigate against rising temperatures, Zimbabwe is likely to be affected.

“Maize production responds to two factors; temperature and soil moisture. If you look at Southern Africa, in most of the countries that are producing maize, there are already challenges with erratic rains or too much rain which both affect maize,” said Dr Unganai.

Rising temperatures result in adverse weather conditions, including drought and excessive rains.

He said the time is nigh for diversification of crops.

“One aspect we must think hard about is the situation in Ukraine. Africa should not be in crisis because of events in Ukraine because conditions in Africa are good for sunflowers and need just half the rainfall needed by maize.”

Dr Unganai encouraged the adoption of mitigation strategies which include rainwater harvesting and supplementary irrigation facilities.

“We have farmers who are already in region four and region five (in the old agro ecological zones map) whose conditions are already hard for maize production. They will be affected. However, even those in areas of good rainfall are likely to have challenges with pests and diseases,” said Dr Unganai.

“We cannot totally do away with maize, due to a number of factors which include strong consumer preference which still exists. However, we can promote alternatives through incentivising farmers who adopt traditional grains and this can be done at policy level,” said Dr Unganai.

Signs of receding output are starting to show.

Last year, despite thorough planning, Zimbabwe missed its maize production target – against a number of input provision schemes for communal farmers.

“The estimated maize production for 2021-2022 season stands at 1 557 914 metric tonnes which is a 43 percent decrease from the 2 717 171 metric tonnes produced in the 2020-2021 season,” the latest Crop and Livestock Assessment from the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development reads.

Zimbabwe needs 1 817 599 for consumption, and the 259 685 metric tonnes deficit will be covered by grain already in the country’s reserves.

The solution to the increasing difficulty in producing maize has been small grains.

Government prefers to call them traditional grains, as Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Minister Professor Amon Murwira argues that the name bears less prejudice than the former.

The name change is yet to inspire adoption of millet, rapoko and sorghum by farmers at a commercial level.

In the 2021/2022 agriculture season there was a 44 percent decrease in traditional grains produced.

This is because there was a 31 percent decrease in the hectarage.

Despite the small grains being drought resistant, farmers managed 194 100 metric tonnes from a previous feat of 347 968 metric tonnes.

Youth in Agriculture Chairperson and 2019 Young Farmer of the Year Mr John Muchenje said there is need to teach farmers that maize is not the sum-total of farming.

“I think it is a case of promotion, some farmers do not know the benefits of traditional grains and they need to be taught patiently. In Harare, all premier restaurants run out of traditional grain food yet farmers complain that there is no market. There is need for more defined market linkages,” said Mr Muchenje.

With the rising costs of inputs, against a falling output, Mr Muchenje said a farmer who plants traditional grains under the current climatic conditions may stand a better chance.

“If you look at maize, you need six bags of Compound D when planting and another six bags of Ammonium Nitrate.

“These are retailing at US$58 and on top of that, a hectare needs 25 kilograms of seed to plant. All this, if the rains are erratic, may yield as low as one tonne. A farmer is better off pursuing traditional grains, unless they have alternative sources of water or they are doing climate smart agriculture,” he said.

He, however, said the current rates being paid by the Grain Marketing Board are not encouraging farmers across the board, as the price per tonne can at times be less than the cost of production due to exchange rate fluctuations.

As the world continues to warm up, it may be time for Zimbabweans to start waving goodbye to their prized culinary asset – sadza.

Some households are starting to move away in pursuit of what they deem healthier options.

In 2021 there was a debate on the internet on whether or not sadza was originally intended for human consumption.

The jury is still out, but one thing is apparent, maize is becoming harder to produce by the year.

If conditions continue to change for the worse, the country will be forced to import maize, which will threaten sadza’s standing as the country’s staple food.

For food to be considered a staple, it has to be locally-produced to a point of self-sufficiency.

Could this see Zimbabwe loosening the choke-hold that sadza has on its citizens?