By Mulenga Kalulu
SPORADIC cases of Maize Smut, a common Maize fungal disease, has been recorded in Luwingu District of Northern Province.
Speaking when he addressed several concerned farmers at the Luwingu Farmer Training Centre, Senior Agricultural Officer Aaron Mutale confirmed the district receiving numerous reports. However, Mr Mutale indicated that the severity of the maize smut was minor.
Mr Mutale stated that farmers whose crop was affected by Fall Armyworms (FAW) has been susceptible to maize Smut in their fields, especially farmers who planted late.
He attributed the increased maize diseases and pests in recent farming seasons to the drastic change in weather patterns.
He urged farmers to practice crop rotation as one of the measures to avoid Maize Smut.
“To reduce the infestation of pests in the field and soaking the seed in a Fungicide solution before planting could also help reduce Maize Smut in fields,” Mr Mutale further added.
He cautioned farmers against the district and advised them to adopt climate smart agriculture practices.
Mr Mutale was speaking on behalf of the District Agricultural Coordinator, Victor Ndhlovu.
Meanwhile, Northern Province Agricultural Coordinator Derrick Simukanzye acknowledged the perennial nature of FAW and the pests’ effects on smallholder farmers due to change in the weather pattern and its effect on Farming Systems.
Speaking on behalf of Provincial Agricultural Coordinator, Provincial Agricultural Information Officer Conrad Muzeta, said as a result, yields per unit area have also been affected because of climate change.
“Whilst farmers are faced with these challenges, the population has also continued growing together with the demand for food,” he said.
Mr Simukanzye highlighted various government programmes aimed at assisting small holder farmers.
He reaffirmed Government’s continued support to farmers, further encouraging small holder farmers willing to go commercial bank. to take advantage of the Sustainable Agriculture Financing Facility (SAFF) to avoid being restricted to less than a Hectare.
“Farmers have an array of programmes where support can be obtained such as the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP), the Food Security Pack (FSP), Constituency Development Fund (CDF) and the SAFF loans, where literally everyone is catered for,” he said.
Bernard Chilufya, a small-scale farmer of Kaseya Camp in Luwingu District has also implored farmers to cultivate high value and drought resistant crops such as sorghum.
“High value crops such as Sorghum have high returns in terms of investment, while they can also cope to changing climatic conditions due to their tolerance to drought,” Mr Chilufya said.
He added that sorghum was also a very nutritious crop with a number of dishes that can be processed.
Mr Chilufya disclosed that Sorghum was also a key ingredient in the brewing of both clear alcoholic beverages and the traditional ones.
He further said the grain is highly nutritious when cooked with pounded groundnuts and also very good as a breakfast dish, especially meeting dietary needs of children.
Mr Chilufya revealed that Sorghum is also recommended for those who are hypertensive, diabetic and those lacking certain nutrients in their bodies. -NAIS