Heavy Rains Dent Hopes for Bumper Harvest in Gokwe 

Chances for a bumper harvest in most parts of Gokwe North are eroding each day as rains continue to pour almost every day.

Speaking to My Gokwe Media, farmers were worrisome about the possibility of food shortage having experienced 2 consecutive years of drought.

“When we head through radio that there will be good rains this year we were happy as we hoped to see an end to food shortages which were caused by past 2 years of drought.

“However, since December, I have been recording rainfall stats almost daily and from the look of the atmospheres, there is no hope that it will stop any time soon”, said one farmer identified as Chuma.

Another farmer, Maphosa also attested that the heavy rains were not good news to anyone in the area.

“These heavy rains have affected everyone in this area. The only ones to harvest something are those with sloppy fields, but some of them have already joined us in the cry.

Crops especially maize have changed colour. Imagine a green plant turning from green to yellow and think that it will give a reasonable yield.”

Some farmers were crying foul about the pricing of fertilizers which can help boost their crops in these times.

“We are very unfortunate that while these rains are hallowing our fields, there is no fertilizer for top dressing.

“A kg bag is going for $16 which some of us cannot afford. My maize field alone is 7 hectares not to mention cotton which is 10.

“It is not possible to raise such money for fertilizers alone yet we need chemicals,” said another farmer Mapfumo.

Farmers also said that they were also worried with the outbreak of pests especially the helliothis in cotton and army worms in maize and other pests.

“If you think of rains you would say at least they give growth to crops. What is worrying me and my fellow guys here is the outbreak of pests especially the heliothis in cotton, armyworms in maize and locusts.

“The unfortunate party is that these locusts are not the ones which people can eat and they are destructing what we were hoping to have after the rains.

“My thinking is that this year is one of those bad seasons where people would still be left with no food”, said Manjali.

Army worms in maize have become a tradition and there have been increasingly a need for farmers to apply pests control methods the same way they do in cotton.

The acceptance that maize now requires pest control have been slowed adopted in Gokwe and that have been affecting maize yield in the area.