Heavy rains evaporate farmers� hopes
Lesedi Mkhutshwa | Tuesday February 7, 2017 15:41
Last year, December farmers were excited over the good rains with the hope that it will bring bumper harvest.
Due to the heavy downpours experienced recently farmers in the district are already feeling the pinch and their hopes of a good yield are quickly fading. The Tonota, Tutume and Masunga (TOTUMA) arable farmers' association chairperson Priscilla Monthe said that heavy rainfalls are already affecting production and delayed cultivation for some.
“Most of the farmers in the north-east district have not started ploughing because of the continuous heavy rainfall.
Some of the farmers can’t even set foot on their fields due to water logging of the soil in the fields which may increase risk of compaction.
“This year we are going to experience a good rainy season, but unfortunately it is also going to spoil farmers produce,” she said.
She added that plants need water, but excessive rainfall often has a negative impact on the yields, indicating that the heavy rainfall is unfavourable for arable farming. A crop production farmer, Stephen Pillar shared the same sentiments with Monthe. He said that the heavy rains are negatively affecting their production and leads to nutrients leaching. “Lots of rainfall affects the growth of crops as they need sunlight to germinate in order to be harvested well in time.
“I ploughed sorghum last year and it is already turning yellowish in colour due to excessive water in the soil,” he said. He further said that they could not cultivate the crops in the field due to uncontrolled growth of weeds and other unwanted plants. Another farmer Emmanuel Kgwelagobe said that there is too much rainfall, which washes away fertilisers and pesticides.
He said that he has long planted maize, which is being damaged by too much rainfall. “I don’t know what to do because my maize is destroyed by armyworm. The rain is going to cost me because it washes chemicals I applied to kill the pest. This is a serious drawback on my production,” he said. Kgwelagobe added that they are struggling to remove weeds, which affect production. “When the crop is harvested from a weedy field the seeds of weeds get mixed with the main crop which results in lowering the quality of the produce,” he said.
He doubted that he would reach his target of selling his first produce by the end of February.