By Josiah Mpofu

This year is likely to be a nightmare for smallholder farmers in Sinazongwe district of Southern Province following heavy rains that flooded their crop fields in the area.

Farmers in the 11 agricultural camps have expressed worry over the situation as the flash floods washed away all the crops they had planted leaving them with no hope of harvesting anything.

Richmono Chami, one of the affected farmers from Shampande village said his entire seven hectares of maize fields and three hectares of soybeans have all been flooded.

Mr Chami lamented that the part of his maize field has only remained with maize stalks with yellow and wilted leaves that couldn’t produce cobs.

“I planted 7 hectares of Maize, 3 hectares of Soybeans, and a lima of groundnuts, I was expecting a bumper harvest because the crop stand was doing well, but not until 29 January 2023 when we experienced some heavy rains coupled with strong wind. The rainstorm which lasted for almost 3 hours submerged my crops,” Mr Chami lamented.

Mr Chami is worried that he will not be able to take his children to school or feed them for this whole year as farming was his only source of income adding that he only depends on rain-fed agriculture.

“I do not know how I will take care of my family and send my children to school because my main source of income has completely been disturbed. It was my first time to cultivate such a big hectarage because I wanted to take my son who completed his secondary education to college,” he said.

Mr Chami has appealed to the government and other well-wishers to come to his aid by providing him with vegetable seeds and fertilizer so that he could venture into gardening.

He noted that he is ready to venture into growing various vegetables such as rape, cabbages, and Okra as the soils in the area are suitable for vegetable production.

Mr Chami said if nothing is done about the tragedy his family risk going hungry the whole year until the next farming season.

And Another farmer, Wizard Chiyanda of the same village has also not been spared as the floods affected his entire three hectares of the maize field and two hectares of his sunflower field.

Mr Chiyanda added that the floods also affected a hector of groundnuts and beans which he had planted in view of providing for his family.

“This situation is really sad for all of us farmers here in Sinazongwe because we depend on crop production for our survival. Take a look at all my crops here and how they have been damaged. I am not sure if I will get something for my family,” Mr Chiyanda said.

Meanwhile, Acting District Agricultural Coordinator Valentine Kilubi disclosed that over 600 farming households in the district have been affected.

Mr Kilubi further stated that out of 11 agricultural camps eight have severely been affected, stating that 462 hectares of crops such as maize, soybeans, cowpeas, and groundnuts among others have performed poorly.

He said the hectors that have been affected by floods are too much and might lead to food and nutrition insecurity among households in the district.

Mr Kilubi called upon the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) to quickly make an assessment of the situation and establish how many people might require relief food.

He said the 2022/2023 farming season has been characterised by climate change effects which have had devastating impacts on the production of most crops especially those grown along the banks of Lake Kariba.

Mr Kilubi has since advised smallholder farmers in the district to avoid cultivating in flood prone areas, but should instead cultivate in upper lands in order to secure their crops.

Farmers should also consider adopting climate-smart technologies such as conservation agriculture and follow the guidance provided by the meteorological department when undertaking their agricultural activities.