Floods

Agricultural experts who spoke to ZimOnline yesterday said most of the
early-planted crops were now a total write-off due to water logging.Zimbabwe Farmers’ Union (ZFU) President, Silas Hungwe, said the heavy rains
will impact negatively on the country’s harvest.”The rains have had a negative impact on the country, plants are now water
logged and in some areas, crops have been washed away . . . We fear that we
will not realise much this year,” Hungwe said.Zimbabwe, together with southern Africa neighbours Mozambique and Zambia,
have since last year battled floods after above normal rainfall since
December.The floods have left at least 21 people dead in Zimbabwe while villagers in
Muzarabani district in the low-lying Zambezi Valley and the southern
province of Masvingo have lost their property and livestock.The Zimbabwean government has already declared the floods a national
disaster.Former Grain Marketing Board (GMB) chief executive, Renson Gasela, who is
also a senior member of Zimbabwe’s main opposition Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC), party said the country would be lucky to harvest 600 000
metric tonnes of maize this year because of the floods.”The figures are worrying, just last week the projection was that the
country was to get 800 000 metric tonnes but the figures have since been
revised downwards because there is no fertiliser to save the crop while the
rains are not stopping at all,” said Gasela.Zimbabwe, which has battled severe food shortages over the past eight years,
requires at least 1.4 million tonnes of maize every year. A chaotic land
reform programme initiated eight years ago has left Zimbabwe unable to feed
itself.Last week, Zimbabwe’s Agricultural Technical and Extension Services (AREX)
said the rains were adversely affecting farming operations with most crops
now showing signs of nitrogen deficiency due to water logging.Agricultural experts say this year’s farming, dubbed “the mother of all
agricultural seasons,” had virtually gone to waste because of incessant
rains and failure by the Harare authorities ensure adequate supplies of seed
and fertiliser. – ZimOnline