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Farmers are getting restless because the rains have delayed, a confirmation that this year’s cropping season will be very short. Weather experts have already predicted that the country will receive normal to below normal rainfall during the 2015/16 cropping season. The farmers have therefore been advised to plant short season varieties and small grains which are drought tolerant.

The Meteorological Services Department (MSD) said farmers should also stagger the planting in order to spread the risk.

We are already approaching mid November with most parts of the country yet to receive the rains. The rains are now expected to start at the end of this month or early December and it is now imperative for farmers to ensure they plant with the first rains.

The Meteorological Department early this year advised government to prioritise cloud-seeding but it seems there is nothing on the ground to indicate resources are being mobilised for this important exercise meant to avert potentially devastating food insecurity.

Farmers on their part should have started planting crops under irrigation to complement dry land cultivation.

According to weather experts the country is likely to have rains between December and February hence the need to plant short season varieties and small grains.

It is our hope that farmers have taken advantage of the delayed start of the rains to prepare adequately for planting. Most of the farmers’ inputs such as seed and fertiliser should have been delivered to the farmers by now so that once the rains start, farmers can plant.

It’s important for farmers to take advantage of the short rainy season. Zimbabwe is definitely facing another drought this coming cropping season and as we have said before, all efforts should be directed at mitigating the effects.

The climate changes being witnessed call for robust changes in the ways we cultivate crops. Water harvesting is very crucial and therefore government and the private sector should prioritise dam construction so that farmers have water for irrigation throughout the year.

Zimbabwe which used to be the breadbasket for the region can retain the status despite the vagaries of climate change if farmers concentrate on cultivating crops under irrigation. Desert countries such as Egypt are major producers of food because their farmers cultivate crops under irrigation.

We want to once again implore government to ensure adequate resources for cloud-seeding are mobilised so that we mitigate the effects of drought.