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Ivan Zhakata-Herald Correspondent

FARMERS in Mbire have made huge strides in adopting drought-tolerant crops to add to their nutritional health as well as contributing to the development of the agricultural sector.

The growers are now growing sorghum after shifting from cotton and maize which have been affected by floods in the dryland areas.

The communities have adapted to the climatic and non-climatic stressors in various ways that include shifting from predominantly maize farming in main dryland fields, to the drought-tolerant sorghum crop over the years and increased reliance on indigenous knowledge, that is, in wild fruits, and to predict rainfall patterns and droughts using unique meteorological, insect and atmospheric indicators.

In an interview on the sidelines of the Climate Change and Nutritional Health workshop held in Harare yesterday, Dr Lesley Macheka, co-investigator, Marondera University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology Zimbabwe said they were investigating climate change adaptive strategies by communities in Mbire.

“We are looking at the impact of nutrition and psychosocial health. There has been increased frequency and incidents of droughts in Mbire but we know communities have adopted some climate change adaptive strategies to survive to maintain their livelihoods.

“We surveyed 621 households in Mbire mainly looking at the types of climate change adaptation strategies they have adopted, the impact of the strategies in nutrition, and psychosocial health. The main findings are that communities are still shifting away from growing maize to drought-tolerant crops, that is finger millet and sorghum,” he said.

Dr Macheka said there were other adaptation strategies that communities were more reliant on that including wild forests where they were harvesting non-timber forest food products such as insects and indigenous fruits.

He said the strategies have positively impacted nutrition resulting in increased diet diversity in communities.

“We expected that now communities have widened their food base where they are harvesting from the wild and growing their drought-tolerant crops.  There are also some research gaps we have identified and we wish to pursue going forward,” Dr Macheka said.

 He said although adaptation policy instruments in Zimbabwe such as the National Climate Policy and the National Climate Change Response Strategy acknowledge the need for strengthening the surveillance of human health under climatic variability and change, they do not proffer strategies for doing that nor do they address the “how” of tracking and evaluating direct health impacts of adaptation actions in different contexts.

Dr Hatirarami Nezomba from the Institute of Natural Resources said the Government through Agritex was training farmers to adapt to drought-tolerant crops. He said that they have noted an increased reliance in indigenous fruits and edible insects during crop failure.

“There is also increased barter and cross-border trade between communities in Mbire and Mozambique and Zambia. Fish has also become another option because livestock rearing has declined due to failing maize crop production,” Dr Nezomba said.

Meanwhile, farmers have hailed the Government’s intervention in empowering marginalised rural communities by encouraging the adoption of drought-resistant crops.

Mrs Maria Dzimbanhete said she was happy with the Government’s thrust in empowering marginalised villages through the Presidential input scheme.

“We have seen a lot of communities receiving inputs, especially the drought-tolerant seed and this is a commendable initiative. 

“The communities should embrace climate change and adapt to the new farming seasons so as to ensure good yields,” she said.

Another farmer, Mr Moses Benza echoed the same sentiments and it was time to shift focus and adapt to drought-resistant crops.

“Climate change is real and as farmers, we have to move from our old ways of farming and embrace new ways which are climate-friendly. This is the only way to have good harvests and develop our agricultural sector as a country,” he said.