Rains leave trail of destruction

The persistent rains have left a trail of destruction with virtually no part of the country left unscathed.

Jonathan Chifuna, the Zimbabwe Meteorological Department's principal metrological officer said although the rains were set to continue, they were expected to subside in intensity.

He said the condition that caused heavy rains in the country in the past week has moved slightly outside the borders of Zimbabwe on the border of Mozambique and Zambia.

He said this should keep feeding moisture to the extreme northern parts of Zimbabwe in Mashonaland provinces thereby maintaining the wet spell in that part of the country.

Crops in different parts of the country have started suffering from leaching as a result of incessant rains the country has been receiving during the past week.

Farmers in most parts of the country have, however, resumed agronomic practices such as weeding, planting and topping tobacco as the Meteorological Services Department forecasts a slight decline in the rainfall until next week.

Agritex provincial officers yesterday confirmed that crops were starting to lose out to the perpetual rains as farmers could not work during the heavy falls.

Mashonaland Central agronomist, Izah Jaidi said the crops were in good condition but there were signs of weed pressure as farmers were failing to work on their fields due to the rains.