Take advantage of the rains

Editor | Wednesday December 15, 2010 00:00

Last year, the country reported a jump in the production of cereals and legumes, thanks to the ISPAAD programme. However, there have been reports that some farmers did not tend to their fields. There could be a myriad of reasons. One might be the fact that the interval between the first rains and the follow-up rains was too long. This resulted in farmers losing hope in reaping anything from their labour.

That is understandable. However, while we appreciate that  ours is a very unpredictable climate, we nonetheless believe that if we give up hope, if we give up trying, we shall suffer greater harm than if we tried. We therefore appeal to the nation to take advantage of these showers to plough their fields to produce food for our households and the entire nation. For those who use government facilities to plough their fields only to abandon them for no good reason, we say this is regrettable. We can only appeal to their sense of responsibility. Granted, government has tried to identify such farmers and removed them from the ISPAAD programme. That may not be enough as the system can be circumvented by those claiming the benefits through other family members and still failing to tend the fields. This should not be allowed to continue. Government should seriously consider embarking on an exercise to identify serious farmers, irrespective of the size of their fields so that they can get assistance and even training if possible. We urge masimo owners who are currently not ploughing them to lease them to others who want to plough this year. If we all have this attitude, we should surely have a bigger harvest - even a surplus. The rains are also good for those dealing in Phane worm. We can only appeal to the Phane harvesters, to allow the worm time to reach harvest status. This will make it profitable enough to be sold at a good price in the market.

We have observed that due to competition for the worm, some people cannot wait for it to grow. They harvest it prematurely. This should stop as the early harvest of the worm could seriously endanger it. We therefore need to protect this delicacy at all costs. While the skies are still favouring us, let us use the time to harvest rainwater. Let us open up those tributaries into which some irresponsible individuals have thrown concrete rubble. Let us expand our reservoirs. Yes, let us dig again those wells that have filled up with dirt and stones. The water may just be enough to see us and our animals through in this mercilessly dry climate. Finally, we hope the meteorology department are looking for better equipment. Surely if we are going to expend so much effort, we need a little precise encouragement that the rains will come on such and such a day and in so much volume.

                                                      Today's thought

                 Up, sluggard, and waste not life; in the grave will be sleeping enough.

                                                   - Benjamin Franklin