The government recently confirmed that agricultural output figures for this year would go down.
“Preliminary results of the on-going crop and livestock assessment indicate reduced agricultural output for most crops, including maize, cotton, beans, and sorghum, among others. This is mainly due to the erratic rainfall and prolonged dry spell experienced during the just ended 2012/13 rainy season,” a government report on the economy said.
Tobacco is the only crop to buck the trend with this year’s deliveries up from the figures recorded last year.
The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board recently said the value of tobacco deliveries stood at close to $500 million, up 27 percent from the same period last year.
A total of 125 million kg of the crop were sold by the end of last month, compared to
97 million kg last year.
Due to the bad grain figures, the government is already in the process of importing maize from Zambia. The Grain Millers Association is importing 160,000 tonnes of maize to meet demand on the local market.
Economic analyst, Erich Bloch, told The Zimbabwean that the problems in the agricultural sector needed new policy interventions.
“The only area we have seen some recovery is in tobacco but this is still not total. We continue to have a massive decline in the production of maize, wheat and other grains. The national herd is now less than 20 percent of what it was at its highest. At one time we used to export hides and other livestock products,” he said. “The government must fund irrigation. The issue of title to land must be addressed to ensure that farmers get access to working capital,” he said.
Zimbabwe commercial Farmers Union president, Wonder Chabikwa, said the country was faced with discouraging yields.
“We are looking at very low yields. On average we are looking at less than one tonne per hectare. Only Mashonaland East and Mashonaland West can give us up to three tonnes per hectare. It was a very bad season,” he said.
Chabikwa said inconsistent rainfall patterns were taking a toll on farmers.
“This season has shown the reality of climate change. The key now is irrigation and using short season seed varieties. Farmers must also consider drought resistant crops,” he said.
Post published in: Agriculture