Cotton farmers advised to plant with first rains

Harare (New Ziana)-Cotton farmers should plant with the first rains to mitigate the effects of the normal to below normal rainfall forecast for the upcoming summer cropping season, an official said on Friday.

Three out of the five ecological regions in Zimbabwe are forecast to have a higher probability of receiving normal to below normal rains during the upcoming summer season.

It is forecast that during the 2023/24 rainfall season, the three zones (Region 1,2, and 3) will have a higher probability of receiving normal to below normal rainfall for most of the sub-seasons that make the period October 2023 to March 2024.

Cottco corporate communications manager Constance Makoni-Thondlana said farmers should therefore make use of the first rains in order to get a good yield.

“We are encouraging our farmers, particularly those who receive the rains early or are likely to receive the rains early; they are supposed to plant their cotton.

“This is because with cotton, it does not need a lot of rainfall, it requires rains but not too much, so we are urging them to make use of the first rains,” she said.

Makoni-Thondhlana said the climate-proofed Pfumvudza/Intwasa Presidential cotton program was also one of the ways to cushion the crop from effects of low rainfall.

“We have been pushing through the government where we give our farmers inputs that are specifically for Pfumvudza, so this is climate-proofing for us,” she said.

She added: ” We have farmers who are also doing irrigation mainly in Checheche (in Manicaland province) where we had farmers who had a successful crop under irrigation for this particular year.”

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe will join the rest of the world in commemorating World Cotton Day on Thursday next week.

The celebrations will run under the theme: “Making cotton fair and sustainable for all, from farm to fashion.”

In 2021 the United Nations General Assembly recognised the unique benefits of cotton by proclaiming 7 October of every year as World Cotton Day.

The day is commemorated to raise the visibility of the cotton sector and awareness of the critical role that it plays in economic development, international trade and poverty alleviation.

New Ziana