BY LORRAINE MUROMO GOVERNMENT yesterday urged farmers to come up with climate change adaptive measures to boost yields after the country recorded poor harvests due to poor rains.
Agricultural Advisory and Rural Development Services chief director Obert Jiri said there was need to extend the planting season in response to climate change.
“It’s (climate change) there and seasons have changed even as reflected on Zimbabwe’s agro-ecological regions. Hotter areas have become hotter and cold places colder. We must adjust accordingly to the changed seasons,” Jiri said yesterday.
“We must acknowledge that when seasons have changed, ergonomically we must come up with adjustments to adapt to climate change.”
The country is grappling with wheat and grain shortages, with the Ukraine-Russia crisis adding to the supply chain disruptions.
Last week, bread prices were hiked due to the high cost of wheat.
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“If you have noticed, bread in the country is already expensive anticipating shortages of wheat and if we don’t take it into our own hands to produce wheat, it shall be in short supply and bread will be more expensive,” Jiri added.
“The war in Ukraine is affecting us because they had the capacity to produce wheat we could import, but we must be wheat self-sufficient at all costs.”
Zimbabwe imports most of its wheat from Ukraine and Russia, with 65% coming from the latter.
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