EDITOR — I am a concerned farmer wishing to express my thoughts on the prevailing weather conditions which are certainly going to result in a catastrophic drought.
The Meteorological Services Department has forecast an El Nino that will be worse than anything experienced in the last 18 years, meaning that we are facing the worst drought in recent memory.
The extreme weather conditions such as drought, soaring temperatures, strong winds, flash-flooding and hail storms are being experienced due to effects of the El Nino phenomenon.
It is on the back of these disturbing developments that I wish to present what I believe are solutions to the impending drought going into the future.
There is no doubt effects of this drought could have been mitigated if measures like rehabilitation of old and instalment of new irrigation equipment had been given priority.
With Zimbabwe blessed with numerous dams, rivers and other catchment areas, significant investment to curb and mitigate climate change we are currently undergoing would have been the panacea to the challenges that are threatening our agriculture sector.
Irrigation is the answer to the growing food security concerns and the need to improve production on the land.
The country must move away from rainfall-dependence to relying on irrigation.
Only 37 percent of the country receives rainfall considered adequate for agriculture and the severe effects of climate change make the development of a vibrant irrigation system critical.
It is my hope that Government will in the near future give priority to irrigation through rehabilitation of existing irrigation infrastructure, most of which is now obsolete, while at the same time making huge investments on new infrastructure and technology.

Concerned Shamva farmer