By Helen Witti

The harsh reality of the drought which has gripped most parts of Zambia has deeply affected farmers. In particular, most small holders in Central province’s crops have had their crops wither due to the scorching sun.

This is the sobering truth of the drought that has engulfed the country, its severe grasp penetrating deep into the country’s agricultural core.
In many places, a month has gone by with not a drop of rain; all that’s left are dry, cracked dirt and dejected cries among farmers.

Juliet Ntalasha, a farmer from Kapandula village in Chief Chipepo’s chiefdom, who cultivated 10 hectares, laments that its painful watching her crops die when the germination was good and the crop looked promising.

Ms Ntalasha said her hope is lost and she currently feels bad visiting the fields as it is a sorry site as she has lost all her crop in the wake of the drought.

She has since called on government to consider taking relief food to the affected families as hunger is roaming around.

And Benson Kamusaki, who is also a civil servant embraced the president’s call for everyone to go back to the land and cultivate in order to have food security at household and country level.

Mr Kamusaki says he cultivated about five hectares of maize crop in which he planted one-hundred-kilogram bags of maize seed.

He said the crop was coming up so well and he hoped for the bumper harvest but alas the absence of the rains for close to one month has changed the story of farming.

Mr Kamusaki says he had numerous plans that he wanted to implement after the successful harvest but it is all in vain.

He has since called on government to consider helping small scale farmers and those who are emerging with irrigation equipment loans.

“I am calling upon government to consider helping us small scale farmers and those who are just starting with irrigation equipment such as sinking boreholes and providing us with cheaper and economic centre pivots that will help us with irrigation,” Mr Kamusaki lamented.

He added that with irrigation systems in place such eventualities like drought that come as a result of climate change can be avoided.  And 30-year-old, Juliet Mulemba, a farmer in Kabwe district has bemoaned the withered crop adding that she has lost all her crop in this year’s drought.

Ms Mulemba revealed that she got farming inputs under the Sustainable Agriculture Financing Facility (SAFF) also called the agriculture credit window, which she is expected to pay back the crop to government.

“Now l’do not know  even know how l will pay back to the government amid these crop losses that she has suffered,” she disclosed.

Meanwhile, Central Province Permanent Secretary Milner Mwanakampwe says Central province had cultivated a total of 289,200 hectares of maize crop of which 202,440 hectares of maize crop has been damaged due to drought.

Mr Mwanakampwe added that of 202,440 hectares affected 101,220 depicting 50percent of the affected crop has been severely damaged with no hope for survival.

He further revealed that Chibombo district is the most hit with 42,500 hectares of maize crop damaged from the 58,200 and 32 hectares planted.

Mr Mwanakampwe added that Chisamba district was second hit with 23,700 hectares affected from the 31,198 hectares planted.

He also revealed that Kabwe district was the least hit with only 13,740 hectares of maize crop damaged from 20,023 hectares cultivated.

He said government is saddened by this development as it is a threat to national food security and has since called on farmers to not worry so much as government is doing everything possible to address this situation.

He cited the recent Presidential statement of calling upon the relevant authorities to realign this 2024 national budget to address the irrigation needs of farmers. -NAIS