CHIPINGE farmers suffered significant losses due to delayed rainfall, which forced many to replant and incur additional costs for new seed and farming inputs, NewsDay Farming understands.
This came as the country experienced a delay to the start of the rainy season, with most areas receiving below-average rainfall.
A significant number of areas across the country are yet to receive meaningful rains, resulting in some crops being considered write-offs after wilting due to high temperatures.
Some farmers have been forced to replant their fields, and there has been a marked increase in the number of villagers failing to access more seed due to financial constraints.
A Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development ministry official, who spoke to NewsDay Farming on condition of anonymity, said they were yet to calculate the overall losses for farmers in the area.
“The situation is dire, but what can we do? So far, I have advised farmers to just replant since the rain has come. We are yet to find out how bad the losses are,” the ministry official said.
“Many of our members are struggling to recover from the losses. We are, however, optimistic that since the rains have come, people are going to have a good harvest.
“It has been raining consistently, and if it keeps up like this, many are not going to struggle as they did last year due to the (El Niño-induced) drought.”
Several other farmers in the district confirmed the losses, urging the government to come to the rescue of some of the farmers who are struggling to replant due to financial constraints.
“We planted our maize in November, but the rains did not come until January, and by the time the rains arrived, our crops had already wilted and died,” Douglas Musongwe, a large-scale maize farmer in Ward 10 of Chipinge district, told NewsDay Farming.
“We had to replant, but it has been a struggle to recover the losses. I normally take my maize after harvest to the Grain Marketing Board every year.
“Last year was a struggle due to the drought (El Niño phenomenon), and this year, it’s now these losses.”
He said last year, he harvested grains only enough for his family.
“I see it happening again this year because I only managed to replant half of where I normally plough,” Musongwe said.
NewsDay Farming was unable to establish when the government would aggregate the losses and develop a plan to support farmers.