IN the face of shifting weather patterns, innovative farmers in ward 9, Umguza district, Matabeleland North, turned the challenge into an opportunity by embracing climate-smart agriculture through heeding expert advice swapping the maize crop with a resilient sorghum crop.
Zimbabwe has not been immune to the impacts of climate change, prompting the government to update the agro-ecological zone map in 2020.
This revision replaced the out-dated 1960s map and introduced new sub-regions, 5A and 5B, aimed at equipping farmers with tools to better manage climate risks, enhance agricultural productivity and achieve food security.
The southern region, particularly Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South, Midlands and Masvingo, are mainly well-suited for traditional grains like sorghum and pearl millet due to their climatic condition hence the remarkable three-hectare harvest of sorghum achieved by Shadreck Sibanda (57) and Sinikiwe Dube (53) in Umguza.
Sibanda and Dube were recently rewarded for being outstanding farmers in the area.
The farmers shared their experiences with people who attended a field day at Redwood Farm in the district on Monday this week.
“Our first batch of crops wilted due to little rain, but we did not lose hope, we started afresh, leading us to what we have now. This year, we are leading in terms of harvest in the ward,” Dube said.
“We would wake up at 3am to come to the fields, this was because our cattle were skinny and not strong enough to work during the day as it would be hot; so we came as early as that time till 5:30am and we then feed the cattle with the grass at home and release them to the grazing land.”
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The farmers said they decided to concentrate on sorghum farming as it was adaptive to present climatic conditions.
“We decided on more sorghum because we would sow approximately 3ha of maize and harvest 20 bags of it, which would be way less than what is expected, plus on the market, sorghum is leading in terms of demand, on top of that its price is higher than those of other products,” she said.
“I am very passionate about farming, it has been my source of income all my life and my three children were raised through my love for farming,” he said.
Meanwhile, acting district agricultural extension officer, Siphiwe Ndebele, applauded the farmers for their hard work while challenging the whole region to heed the advice on climate change.
“Let us farm a lot of sorghum in our fields. We have too much heat in our region, therefore, having only maize in the field will result in a poor harvest for us, whereas, with sorghum, it is ideal for our weather patterns. With time, we will be on track with sorghum farming,” she said.
Officials from Zimbabwe Farmers Union, Agricultural Technical and Extension Services, representatives of businesses that sell seeds and agro-chemicals, villagers as well as communal farmers in the ward attended the field day.
