Agric experts urged to employ innovative ways to mitigate climate change effects

Bulawayo (New Ziana)-Local agriculture experts should adopt high frequency monitoring systems to reduce the negative effects of climate change on production, an official has said.

Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development permanent secretary Obert Jiri said this while addressing participants at workshop to review the Ministry`s strategic plan.

He said agriculture information, monitoring, evaluation, and Early Warning Systems (EWS) should provide real time information for an effective and efficient planning and response system that ensures resilience to natural and economic shocks and hazards.

“All stakeholders must adopt the High Frequency Monitoring System (HFMs), and the Crisis Modifier (CM) technology, that was tried through the Zimbabwe Resilience Building Fund (ZRBF) and introduced into the Ministry of Lands through the Integrated Agriculture Information System (AIMs),” he explained.

Jiri said the Agriculture Livelihoods Track (ALT) should form an integral part of the monitoring and evaluation system to provide near real time indications of how food systems were performing.

“The success of the agricultural sector in 2022 serves as an inspiring example of what can be accomplished when the right policies, investment, technology, and innovations are collective efforts harnessed.

“It is a testament to the resilience and determination of Zimbabwean farmers who have transformed the nation into an agricultural powerhouse. With continued support from all key players and stakeholders in the agriculture space, and our collective commitment, our agricultural sector will undoubtedly continue to flourish,” he said.

The review workshop comes at a time farmers across the Matabeleland region have been lobbying the government to invest more in early warning systems (EWS) so as to avoid or reduce damages on crops from natural hazards.

Farmers said for early warning systems to be effective, there is need to actively involve the people and communities at risk from a range of hazards, facilitate public education and awareness of risks, disseminate messages and warnings efficiently, ensure that there is a constant state of preparedness, and that early action is enabled.

With climate change, the weather has become more unpredictable, and farmers are unable to rely on traditional and indigenous knowledge in making decisions.

Against this background, early warning systems are strategic building blocks to cope with and adapt to climate change.

These advisories will assist farmers to adjust cultivation practices and crop rotations to tailored seasonal forecasting impacts, preventing disruptions to cultivation, while also increasing farmers’ understanding of climate change and its impacts.

Early warning systems will also assist in enhancing food security, allowing Governments to monitor weather changes, efficiently allocate resources and prepare for food emergencies.

New Ziana