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Obert Chifamba

Agri-Insight

FOR centuries, humans have gathered around fires listening to riveting folklore, sharing songs and above all, just connecting with one another. 

In many ways, fire has easily become the foundation of human civilisation with traditions being passed from one generation to another while mankind enjoyed the warmth of the fire. 

Today, humankind has continued to rely on fire for various purposes – warmth, cooking, and other tenacities. It is, however, the manner in which some people are using fire that has become a talking point and brings out that vile nature inherent in humanity. 

Besides its power to bring people together, fire has also been used for other purposes that have brought more harm than good to humanity.

 And despite the fact that fire has been a life-giver since the dawn of time, some people are manipulating its powers that can be deployed for either good or bad and scorching the earth for various personal reasons. 

This is happening through veld fires, which have become a common occurrence during the dry seasons – sending billows of black smoke into the sky and giving earth a blood-sun in all of the country’s four cardinal points. 

Everywhere across the country at this time of the year, veld fires are burning like a temper – their leaping flames seeming to have a terrible anger towards everything in their path. They always leave a trail of destruction and air that smells and tastes like bonfire while the horizon glows orange beneath the smoky wind-dragged plume. 

So far, veld fires have destroyed at least 360 000 hectares from more than 1 800 incidents with one person reportedly killed while housed and agricultural equipment were also caught up in the infernos. 

In recent times, they have become an increasing problem in the farming communities and even beyond. Of course all this destruction is always traceable to the recklessness of mankind beginning with the legendary Prometheus who, in Greek mythology, stole the fire from heaven and handed it to humans on earth. Maybe if it had been handed over to mankind properly, people might be using it for the correct purposes. 

Effectively, the high prevalence of veld fires is pouring cold water on the country’s country efforts to boost food security when they scorch thousands and thousands of crop hectarages and incinerate livestock as well. Veld fires are decimating forests, pastures and fields alike leaving a jungle of charred stumps. 

Last year, almost one million hectares of forests and farmland from 6 042 veld fire incidents were decimated between July and October with the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) reporting 1 811 veld fire incidents and 363 913 hectares of burnt land so far. Winter wheat worth almost US$1 million was also destroyed countrywide last season, which exposed farmers’ lack of preparedness for disasters especially when producing a crop under irrigation with the rest of the country going through the dry season. 

There will be a lot of dry grass and crop residues in fields that veld fires can use as fuel. It means farmers need to be proactive and erect fireguards around their fields and the time to do so is now. 

It is also important for them to form fire-fighting committees that will coordinate remedial activities in the event of a fire outbreak. Those farmers or any other citizens intending to start fires for whatever reason should always make sure they seek advice on the state of the weather and also have some people on stand-by in case there may be need to contain unruly fire elements. 

For farmers to pretend they are always being caught unprepared by the veld fires it outright mischief given that it is a common matter that every year many of them are losing valuable crops to the scourge. It is not just wheat alone but sometimes late harvested crops are being caught in crossfire. 

This is enough to get people worried and acting to avert possible disasters way before they strike. 

Veld fire inspired destruction hit worrying proportions last year when a number of farm workers were burnt to their death on a plot in Matabeleland South. 

The incident left citizens and authorities alike wondering if penalties being dished out for convicted fire starters were deterrent enough or might need to be reviewed upwards. 

The general feeling among citizens is that penalties must be very severe so that anyone mulling to commit the crime has to think twice before doing so. 

The penalty must include both a fine and jail term if that is possible so that convicted offenders actually feel the pinch. Communities also need to take charge of their environment’s protection and be able to stop each other from committing the heinous crime of starting veld fires. 

They should also have the guts to report such offenders to allow the law to take its course. The reality on the ground is that people that start these fires comes from homes where there are people, some of whom will even be aware of the shameful deed but just keep quiet about it. 

An estimated 174 000 hectares including those under wheat were destroyed last season and this hacked off a significant of yields from what was eventually harvested. 

The most painful thing is that we are losing crops through something that is avoidable while the amount of revenue both the farmers and the country are losing is something that should evoke action immediately. 

Remember in terms of revenue, one cent lost is one cent too much. 

However, farmers can also do themselves a huge favour by quickly organising the harvesting of their crop once it is ready for that and not wait for someone to do it for them. In many cases the farmers leave the fate of their projects in the hands of others particularly the Government, which they expect to avail combine harvesters. 

It is the farmer’s duty to secure combine harvesters for the reaping of their crop, which is also prone to being damaged by the early trains if they find it still in the field. 

The country is expecting 380 000 tonnes of wheat to be harvested this season – the highest figure since 1966 when wheat farming started, all thanks to the concerted efforts of the Government and private sector to substitute imports of wheat foodstuffs with locally produced products.