Tendai Kamhungira 
THE adoption of climate-smart agriculture will help boost productivity in the country and shield farmers against the ravaging effects of climate change, a leading economic advisory and investment firm has said.
This comes as changing weather patterns have already affected Zimbabwe’s food security situation, as well as more than 60 percent of Zimbabweans who depend on agriculture for their livelihood.
According to the 2022 Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment (ZIMVAC) report, more than 3,8 million rural individuals are already food insecure until the next harvesting season in April next year due to drought.
Global Renaissance Investments (GRI) chief executive Ngoni Dzirutwe, pictured said without action, Zimbabwe’s agriculture sector will continue to be extremely vulnerable to climatic shocks, especially droughts.
“With the 2022/2023 farming season fast approaching, it is essential for farmers and other stakeholders to embrace climate-smart agriculture, which includes practices and technologies that sustainably increase productivity, support farmers’ adaptation to climate change and reduce levels of greenhouse gases,” he said.
Dzirutwe added that to improve food security for all citizens and drive sustainable economic growth across the country, the government should also make climate-smart agriculture a priority.
The agricultural sector plays a critical role in the Zimbabwean economy, serving as a source of livelihood for approximately 70 percent of the population and contributing 15-20 percent to Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
However, agricultural production in Zimbabwe remains highly dependent on climate, with a primarily rainfed, low technology production base, low adaptive capacity, and large seasonal climatic variability.
Agriculture experts believe that climate change will continue to negatively impact agricultural production, both through increased occurrence of extreme weather events such as floods and droughts, as well as from rising temperatures and changes in precipitation.
A recent report by the World Bank, the Climate-Smart Agriculture Investment Plan (CSAIP), revealed that with the changing climate, maize — a staple food crop in Zimbabwe — is expected to see a 33 percent yield reduction by 2030.
Additionally, increases in temperature were estimated to result in decreases in the income generated from beef cattle by 11-13 percent by 2040. An increase in temperature is also linked with increased incidence and prevalence of livestock disease. Thus, without action to increase resilience, climate change will likely leave Zimbabwe’s agriculture sector in fast decline.
The reported added that without action, exogenous changes such as climate change and climate-related shocks will leave the sector in a fast decline. The investment plan recommends that the Zimbabwe government climate-proof its agriculture sector and invest in climate — smart agriculture practices similar to the Pvumvudza conservation agriculture it spearheads.
“Climate-Smart Agriculture practices can help improve agricultural productivity in a way that is both resilient to future uncertainties,” World Bank senior agriculture specialist Easther Chigumira said.
“Crop-switching to drought and heat tolerant crop varieties are estimated to increase yields by 3-12 percent across all crops. Although investment in irrigation has high start-up costs, it provides estimated yield increases of between 50 and 140 percent. The country currently does not meet its full irrigation potential.”
Meanwhile, GRI will next month host a Smart Farming Indaba and a Business Awards dinner at the Kingdom Hotel in Victoria Falls aimed at offering solutions to challenges in the agriculture sector.
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