A moisture stressed maize crop

Pamela Shumba, Senior Reporter
LANDS, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement Deputy Minister Davis Marapira has said about 30 percent of the country’s crops are a write off due to the prolonged dry spell that has hit the country.

The country has been experiencing a dry spell since the beginning of the year and this has caused panic among farmers.

In an interview yesterday, Deputy Minister Marapira said following a tour he undertook in all the country’s provinces to assess the state of the crops, he estimates that about 30 percent of the crops would be a write-off.

He said his Ministry will, however, this week embark on a month long countrywide assessment of the crop situation.

The Deputy Minister said although some of the crops were a write off, there was hope for some farmers following the scattered rains that were received during the weekend and other crops that are under irrigation.

“We’ve had a long dry spell that seriously affected our crops. I’ve been to all the provinces to assess the situation and indications are that about 30 percent of our crops are a write off. This is my estimation following my visits,” said Deputy Minister Marapira.

“We’re embarking on a national crop assessment to measure the extent of the damage so that we have accurate information. What is however comforting is that we have irrigated crops in different parts of the country and these are doing well. We also received scattered rains on Sunday and we’re expecting more this week. This gives us hope that the remaining crops will survive,” he said

The Deputy Minister said there was no need to panic because the country has 500 000 tonnes of maize in its strategic grain reserves, which was enough to sustain the country up to September this year.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has also assured the nation that there is enough food even if some farmers fail to harvest this year.

@pamelashumba1