Zambezi crop production drops by 12%

Despite favourable rainfall at the beginning of the season - which caused optimistic expectations among farmers in the Zambezi Region for a prosperous harvest - extended periods of dry spells in the second half of the season have caused crops to wilt irreversibly.

On the other hand, the eastern part of the region suffered flood periods, which affected some crop fields and ultimately lead to a reduced crop yield.

This is according to the crop prospects, food security and drought situation report issued by the agriculture ministry.

The report said farmers were nevertheless able to cover about 81% of their crop fields, reflecting an increase of 6% compared to the corresponding period last year.

“The post-harvest analysis for the aggregated cereals indicated an evident reduction in the harvest with a decrease of 12% compared to the previous season production of 11 134 tonnes, but 39% above the average production of 7 033 tonnes.”

According to the report, specifically maize production, which serves as a staple crop for the region, recorded a decline of 14% compared to the previous season's harvest of 11 356 tonnes, yet remains 23% higher than the average production of 5 484 tonnes.

Pearl millet recorded a decline of 5% below last season’s harvest of 2 149 tonnes, but 27% above the average production of 1 605 tonnes.

Sorghum went down by 16% compared to the previous harvest of 1 149 tonnes and 29% below average production of 1 361 tonnes.

“Moreover, non-cereal crop production also experienced a decline this season compared to the preceding year.”



Human-wildlife conflict

Per the report, instances of human-wildlife conflict were widely reported in the region, specifically elephants, buffaloes and warthogs have destroyed much of farmers’ crop fields.

“The population of wild animals is steadily increasing, and are moving in a gang of 100 to 200, particularly the buffaloes.”

This situation poses a significant threat to crop farming in the region, as crops are consistently subjected to destruction each season, it said.

In terms of the ploughing services under the dryland crop production programme, the region managed to plough about 1 627 hectares this season with 18 government tractors and 923 hectares by private tractors, while the draught animal power ploughed 262 hectares.



Grazing

The report furthermore said grazing conditions vary across the region, with the floodplain areas being classified as good and the remaining areas as fair.

Due to the flood in the eastern part of the region, during the time of the assessment, grazing was still underwater and farmers had already relocated their livestock to higher ground.

Moreover, grazing in the Salambala, Bukalo and Masikili areas - where majority of livestock from the flooded area moved to - is expected to deteriorate fast due to a growing number of livestock in those areas.

Additionally, both large and small livestock are in good body condition, and no major livestock diseases were reported by farmers apart from lumpy skin disease in cattle and orf in small stock.

Meanwhile, water is available mostly in rivers, streams, boreholes, swamps and ponds.

However, some river streams are drying up, and certain boreholes require rehabilitation to ensure an adequate water supply for the communities that rely on them for water access.

Although household food security has slightly improved following the current harvest, the harvest is only able to sustain households until December at most.