LIVINGSTONE MARUFU
Government will at the end of this month embark on an assessment exercise to evaluate the state of crops and livestock in the country, Business Times can report.
It will also establish disease prevalence, state of pastures and water supply.
Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development deputy minister Vangelis Haritatos, said the assessment results will provide an early warning to decision makers on the possible outcome of the current cropping season.
“The first crop and livestock assessment will begin at the end of January when most field crops which include maize, soyabeans, cotton, groundnuts and small grains would have been planted and would have shown their potential,” Haritatos said.
The assessment, he said, would identify areas where the government may intervene.
He said officials from the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Agritex, and personnel from various farmers’ organisations will collect data from fields to come up with estimates as to where the country stands in terms of potential output.
Zimbabwe Farmers Union secretary general Paul Zakariya said: “The exercise will be special in such a way that it is a tale of two sides whereby the first half was a very dry season while the second half was a very humid spell where a lot of fertiliser is needed to keep the crop in good condition.”
Erratic rainfall patterns during November and December have affected most farmers as most crops dried out due to excessive moisture stress.
However, most growers in most parts of the country replanted short season varieties in January to salvage the season which seemed to have been lost.
Zakariya said farmers have planted over 900 000 hectares this season which is by far bigger than other years despite the erratic rainfall.
“Surprisingly, we stand at around 938 000 hectares of all major crops, a hectare which ranks among the highest planted area in years,” he said.
Experts said farmers have to apply all necessary inputs needed in time to cover for the lost time.
“Our summer cropping season is now from January to March, which is a very short period to deal with hence farmers need to apply all required fertiliser in their appropriate portions to ensure the crops reach maturity stage,” the Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union president Shadreck Makombe said.
