Stanslous Ruvengo

Farmers in Nyamakwe and Nyimai irrigation schemes are ruing their losses following a bout of cold spells which resulted in severe frost laying waste several hectares of winter maize and beans.

The farmers are now cutting down the barren stalks of their winter maize crop as there is no more life in them due to severe frost.

Innocent Maware, a farmer with a portion of land in the Nyamakwe Irrigation Scheme said the year had been a very difficult one for farmers.

We are in the middle of a drought; meaning rain-fed agriculture has not yielded much, and dam levels are not good at all. It becomes more heartbreaking that after working hard trying to overcome the drought, our crops fall to frost,” said Maware.

He is one of the farmers who have now written off the maize (pictured) and bean crops they had planted under irrigation a few months after writing off another maize crop planted under rainfall at the beginning of the cropping season in November 2023.

“We have lost not once, not twice, not thrice but four times. This is our reality when we consider all the inputs that we lost when we planted two crops twice; first under fain fall and then under irrigation,” he said.

These sorrows were also shared by fellow farmer Bonface Madzingo whose cropping efforts for the 2023/2024 season have come to nothing.

Madzingo, Nyimai Irrigation Scheme committee member, said he was now looking forward to the next cropping season with diminished optimism.

“It’s been a very difficult time and I don’t want to even think about the losses. We don’t produce much so any small setback means our families immediately face problems of food insecurity and increased financial challenges.

While Nyamakwe Irrigation Scheme uses flood irrigation system , Nyimai Irrigation uses piped water delivered to the taps.