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Obert Chifamba —
If you’re curious where the phrase “raining cats and dogs” came from, add your name to the long list. Some think it originated in the 1500s, when roofs were commonly thatched and heavy downpours could send stray pets pummelling through rooftops.

I can bet my last cent, even those cats and dogs referred to in this popular idiom have now taken enough battering from the rains currently pounding the country and could do with some respite. And whenever you see two or more people talking, know that one of the most topical issues they are discussing or at least referring to, is the incessant rains.

Farmers make the likeliest group to dwell on this topic for hours on end. They will discuss how the rains are washing away their hopes of a fruitful season especially coming at a time when getting Ammonium Nitrate (AN) fertiliser on the market is literally a rarity.

Reliant on the natural rains, working exhausted soil and hobbled by seasons of diminishing agricultural productivity, thanks to the scourge of global warming, the farmers can’t help but see themselves sinking more and more into the abyss of hopelessness – at the mercy of the vagaries of nature. The rains are slowly drifting from a saviour to a bad omen.

For real, their hopes are fading fast if they cannot access AN fertiliser to salvage the situation pronto. But should they just despair and whine without trying to at least convert some negatives into positives, at least to walk out of the drenching period with something?

Maize is just growing tall and has even gone past the tasselling stage in some cases. Nutrients are being washed away and there is hardly enough sunshine to support other growth processes. Maybe most of the maize would be at the soft dough stage of grain development if the rains had abated. Sadly, this has not been the case.

Tobacco farmers are also failing to conduct their reaping operations, thanks to the relentless rains. So, there are very high chances now that the quality of the ripe leaves may be compromised.

Farmers can at least reduce water logging by making ridges that allow water to drain out of the fields and still collect somewhere for later use of course. They can harvest that water. Those with fields upstream can suspend weeding using hoes, ox-drawn cultivators or tractors to protect the crumb structure of the soil, which is vital in saving it from being washed away.

They can control weeds by just hand pulling them out and dumping them where they cannot regenerate and become a problem once more. By hand pulling weeds they help reduce siltation of rivers and dams downstream, as less loose soil will be available for erosion by the flooding waters, thanks to the rains.

In the event of a temporary a respite from the pounding, they can apply herbicides though the risk of them being washed away before they can act on weeds remains very high.

Farmers can also practise split application of fertiliser if they have it. Those that have access to Calcium Ammonium Nitrate or Lime Ammonium Nitrate can also apply but at the rate of between 120 and 130 percent more than they would do for AN. For a fertiliser like Urea they can also apply at a rate of between 60 and 70 percent less than they do for AN fertiliser because the former is more powerful in terms of nutrient composition.

Some farmers can still plant now but their yields will not match those of crops planted in October or just after that, as heat units critical for productivity would have declined significantly.

Cattle farmers on the one hand should make sure they relocate animals from original kraals to less mud and dung clogged ones, as they will not be able to lie down and rest, which they will do during day reducing hours of grazing. This will impact negatively on the health of the animals. The farmers should also dip them regularly or at least apply tick grease to control ticks, which bring the most dangerous diseases to cattle during rainy seasons.

All said and done, the water being generated by the incessant rains still needs to be conserved and put to good use especially if the excessively wet season is followed by a dry one. Good water management in agriculture is not only about investing in high tech drip or pumping systems but also promoting local practices of rainwater harvesting, management, conservation and efficient use.

At the last World Water Forum in Istanbul a few years ago, experts talked about the colour of water: about blue water (irrigation), green water (rainwater captured by the soil and available for plants) and grey water (polluted water that could be treated and recycled).

The future could be in green water. But how do we generate more green water and exploit the untapped potential of rain fed agriculture, largely neglected or misunderstood until now by agriculture policymakers and other essential stakeholders?

Of course, the green water, is seen as “non-technological”, unreliable, and vulnerable to climate hazards yet, agriculture depending on rainfall, this green water, represents 80 percent of cultivated lands (1,2 billion hectares) and 85 percent of agricultural water usage globally.

Its importance varies between regions: over 95 percent in the Sahel; about 90 percent in Latin America; about 60 percent in South Asia; and 75 percent in North Africa. For most of the global population and farmers, green water is more important than blue water.

In vast regions, especially in arid and semi-arid areas, rainfall is concentrated in a short rainy season (approximately 3 to 5 months), with a few intensive bursts, impossible to forecast and highly variable each year.

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