IN a move that impetus to the current efforts to climate-proof agriculture, Government has started distributing agro-ecological maps countrywide to assist farmers in choosing crops suitable for their different regions.
Government is also educating farmers on agro-ecological matching to make sure they make correct choices that match the climatic and soil conditions of their regions to boost production and ultimately food security.
In a recent X (formerly twitter) post, Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development permanent secretary Professor Obert Jiri said: "Regardless of any climate variability, a farmer must always respect the dictates of agro-ecological regions and should be advised of the correct crops to grow to ensure food security from the household to the national level."
Prof Jiri also told this publication that farmers were largely aware of the agro-ecological matching thrust and his Ministry had started distributing agro-ecological maps to provinces and districts. He added that it was necessary to make the process continuous.
He further explained that farmers who embraced agro-ecological matching, Pfumvudza/Intwasa and traditional grains cultivation were assured of decent yields this season, despite the minimal rainfall received by the nationfor the 2023/24 season.
"Crops belonging to farmers who embraced agro-ecological matching are faring better than those that were produced without paying attention to the agro-ecological requirements specific for different regions," said Prof Jiri.
The implementation of the strategy has been on the increase in the cultivation of traditional grains, especially in the southern provinces of the country.
Reports from the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development show that the hectarage for sorghum increased by 27 percent from 319 759ha in the 2022/23 season to 405 116ha this term. Similarly, the area dedicated to pearl millet cultivation has seen a 7, 5 percent increase from 180 666 hectares in the 2022/23 season to 194 232ha this season. Overall, the cumulative area dedicated to maize and traditional grains cultivation accounted for 99, 6 percent of the target covering approximately 2 349 921 hectares.
"The condition of the traditional grains was much better than maize highlighting Government's progress and success in eliminating policy-induced drought. Progress was also made in reducing household-induced drought, a phenomenon where households still prefer maize in agro-ecological regions 4 and 5 where it does not do optimally. The combination of household-induced drought and weather-induced drought has the deadly effect of wiping away crops leading to food dependence, hence the Government's modification of social welfare access to include climate-proof interventions by farmers," explained the report.
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In 2020, Zimbabwe produced the new revised agro-ecological zone map to replace the old one crafted in the 1960s with the aim of strengthening the capacity of farmers to plan for climate risks and boost agriculture production and food security.
Farmers in ecological regions 1 and 2 will grow crops such as maize, sunflower, sorghum, pearl millet, groundnuts, African peas and sugar beans.
In natural region 3, farmers grow crops like maize, sorghum or sunflower, sorghum, pearl millet, groundnuts, African peas and sugar beans.
Farmers in regions 4 and 5 grow sorghum, millet and sunflower. They also have the option to choose from maize, African peas and ground nuts.
