News / Agriculture
Drought imminent in Lupane
09 Feb 2018 at 18:11hrs | Views
The wet spell that has been experienced in most parts of the country over the last two weeks has not made much difference in the condition of the crops in Lupane, with communal farmers expressing concern that drought is imminent.
Communal farmers in Lupane believe the rains that have been experienced over the past two weeks were too late to bring about any meaningful recovery to the crops that had already suffered severe moisture stress.
An assessment of the maize crop between Hwange and Lupane revealed that there is little improvement in its condition to enable it to bear the desired harvests.
Some have however not lost hope and continue to plough until the 15th of this month, a traditional cut-off date for the communities after which there is no chance of the crop reaching maturity stage.
Analysts believe more awareness programmes are still required for communal farmers to embrace the production of small grain crops as they are drought resistant than maize.
Communal farmers in Lupane believe the rains that have been experienced over the past two weeks were too late to bring about any meaningful recovery to the crops that had already suffered severe moisture stress.
An assessment of the maize crop between Hwange and Lupane revealed that there is little improvement in its condition to enable it to bear the desired harvests.
Some have however not lost hope and continue to plough until the 15th of this month, a traditional cut-off date for the communities after which there is no chance of the crop reaching maturity stage.
Analysts believe more awareness programmes are still required for communal farmers to embrace the production of small grain crops as they are drought resistant than maize.
Source - zbc
