Summer Crop Situation Dire; No Rains Forecasted Until End Of February
The Government says the crop situation in the country is ranging from fair to dire, as the El Niño weather phenomenon destroys the hopes of millions of smallholder farmers.
This came out during a meeting of Ministers of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution held on Friday at a leisure resort about 60 kilometres out of Beitbridge in Matabeleland South Province.
The meeting was aimed at coming up with strategies on how the ministers can mitigate against the possible impacts of drought in their provinces.
Addressing the meeting, Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Minister Anxious Masuka said (via The Sunday Mail):
We meet for our monthly interactive meeting with Ministers of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution and the topical issue is the current El Niño-induced drought.
We get reports from across the country where the crop situation is indicated to be ranging from fair to dire.
This season has clearly lived up to the very harsh El Niño phenomenon that was forecasted.
We did say that the season will be delayed but it has also been indicated that the phenomenon will be short and sharp.
The current weather models are not indicating rain until the end of the month and our crops by that stage would have been severely stressed.
Masuka said the Cabinet has directed that the Grain Marketing Board (GMB)’s Strategic Grain Reserve must be increased to 1.5 million tonnes to ensure food security. He said:
As of yesterday (Thursday), GMB only had 200 000 tonnes of grain, but because of the changed structure, deliberation and marketing arrangements, GMB is no longer the monopoly purchaser of grains.
GMB now only purchases surpluses from Pfumvudza/Intwasa programme producers and also self-financed farmers.
AFC and CBZ (banks) no longer go to GMB but directly to contractors and the private sector.
We have a policy that 40 per cent of the annual raw material requirement must be procured through contracting farmers.
The private sector holds 526 000 tonnes that were marketed last year, while GMB has under 200 000 tonnes, a 39 per cent share of marketed crops.
Masuka said his Ministry had discussions with Vice Presidents Constantino Chiwenga and Kembo Mohadi over the recent nationwide police blitz under the banner “No to land barons”.
He added that an inter-ministerial committee that has been constituted will meet this Monday to receive a report from the Commissioner-General of Police on the operation, after which an announcement will be made. Masuka is chairing the inter-ministerial committee.
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