REVIEW OF CURRENT STATUS OF THE AGRICULTURE SECTOR IN ZIMBABWE INTER-AGENCY CONSULTATION MEETING ON USER INTERFACE PLATFORM (UIP), AGRICULTURE, FOOD SECURITY AND WATER SECTORS OF THE GLOBAL FRAMEWORK FOR CLIMATE SERVICES, FAO, ROME, ITALY, 26 - 28 SEPTEMBER 2011 BARNABAS CHIPINDU, DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS, UNIVERSITY OF ZIMBABWE
45
Embed
REVIEW OF CURRENT STATUS OF THE AGRICULTURE SECTOR IN ZIMBABWE INTER-AGENCY CONSULTATION MEETING ON USER INTERFACE PLATFORM (UIP), AGRICULTURE, FOOD SECURITY.
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
REVIEW OF CURRENT STATUS OF THE AGRICULTURE SECTOR IN
ZIMBABWE
INTER-AGENCY CONSULTATION MEETING ON USER INTERFACE PLATFORM (UIP),
AGRICULTURE, FOOD SECURITY AND WATER SECTORS OF THE GLOBAL FRAMEWORK FOR CLIMATE SERVICES, FAO, ROME, ITALY, 26 -
28 SEPTEMBER 2011
BARNABAS CHIPINDU, DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS, UNIVERSITY OF ZIMBABWE
PRESENTATION OUTLINE
INTRODUCTION
CROP PRODUCTION
LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION
CLIMATE SERVICES
CONCLUSION
INTRODUCTION
Agriculture is the backbone of Zimbabwe's economy
The sector provides employment for large number of the population
Agriculture provides about 60 percent of all raw materials for industry
INTRODUCTION CONT.
The country receives most of during summer months (November to March)
A considerable potential exists for the production of irrigated crops during dry months in areas where stored water supplies are available
INTRODUCTION CONT.
Recent droughts have caused the agricultural sector to experience crop failure and livestock losses
Rain-fed crop production is also affected by climate variability and change while winter crop production is affected by frost
INTRODUCTION CONT.Agriculture Sector has undergone significant transformation in recent years as a result of land redistribution programme
Categories of practitioners in the agriculture sector : communal, A1, A2, old resettled (OR), small-scale commercial farmers (SSCF) and large-scale commercial farmers (LSCF) and more recently peri-urban
CROP PRODUCTION
Most crops experienced a decline during the period 2000 to 2004, with a marked decrease in 2008 but there were increases in production of some crops such as maize and groundnuts, in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009
CROP PRODUCTION
CROP PRODUCTION
Wheat production has decreased almost six times during the period 2000 to 2009 due to lack of financial supportBarley production in 2009 was more than double that in 2000, a factor which may be attributed to market forcesPotato production steadily increased from 2000 to 2008 before decreasing slightly in 2009
CROP PRODUCTION CONT.
• Potato production steadily increased from 2000 to 2008 before decreasing slightly in 2009
• Sweet potato production increased slightly while tea production shows no significant change
• Sugarcane production was steady from 2000 to 2004, decreased in 2005 and 2006 before becoming steady for the remainder of the period
• Production of most crops increased during the 2010/11 cropping season when compared with the 2009/10 season
• Significant increases were registered by tobacco (44 %) onion (39%), finger millet (34%) and Irish potato (28%)
• Production of cotton, pearl millet, sorgum, sugar beans and sunflower declined with sorgum experiencing the largest decline of 28 percent
CROP PRODUCTION CONT.
Positive increases in crop production were achieved despite the 2010/11 season being not ideal for cropping
There was too much rainfall in January 2011 resulting in water logging, nutrient leaching, and poor weed control
The wet spell was followed by a prolonged dry spell from the end of January to the end of March 2011
CROP PRODUCTION CONT.
Increased tobacco production can be attributed to increased cropped area in response to high tobacco selling prices offered the previous season
MAIZE PRODUCTION
Maize production increased by 9%
Increase to larger hectarage and better yields in the high potential maize producing areas
The high potential maize producing areas did not experience the prolonged dry spell
LIVESTOCK NUMBERS
Species Number
Cattle 5 156 753
Sheep 502 205
Goats 3 072 850
Pigs 258 091
Donkeys 371 795
TOTAL 9 361 694
LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION
Calving rates stood at 45% in April 2011 which is an increase of 10% when compared to 2010
The national average cattle mortality was 4.4% which is slightly above the acceptable 3%
The pig sow herd was 7 000 in 2009 and increased to 12 000 in 2010
THERE WAS A 26% DECLINE IN THE NUMBER OF GOATS IN 2010 COMPARED TO 2009
THIS WAS PROBABLY DUE TO INCREASED MARKET DEMAND
SHEEP POPULATION DECREASED FROM 2001 TO 2007 BEFORE STARTING TO INCREASE
LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION
PIG PRODUCTION DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY FROM 2 000 DUE STOCK FEED SHORTAGES
THE NATIONAL COMMERCIAL SOW HERD DECLINED FROM 14 000 IN 2000 TO 9 000 IN 2004, RECOVERED TO ABOVE 16 000 SOW UNITS IN 2007, DECLINED IN 2009 TO ABOUT 7 000 AND THEN RECOVERED TO 12000
PIG PRODUCTION
THE PRODUCTION OF POULTRY AND POULTRY PRODUCTS HAS BEEN STEADILY INCREASING SINCE 2007
DAY OLD BROILER CHICK PRODUCTION WAS ABOUT 2 MILLION PER MONTH IN 2011
POULTRY PRODUCTION
DAIRY HERD DECREASED FROM 97 460 IN 1995 TO 25 000 IN 2009
THE DAIRY HERD INCREASED TO 28 000 IN 2010
MILK PRODUCTION DECREASED MARKEDLY FROM 1995 TO 2010
DAIRY PRODUCTION
THE DECLINE IS MILK PRODUCTION HAS BEEN ATTRIBUTED TO SHORTAGES OF ANIMAL FEED, LOW PRICES PAID FOR MILK PRODUCTION AND IMPORTS OF CHEAPER MILK AND MILK PRODUCTS FROM THE REGION
DAIRY PRODUCTION
SHORT-RANGE WEATHER FORECAST (UP TO THREE DAYS)
TEN-DAY WEATHER FORECASTS
SEASONAL WEATHER FORECASTS FROST PREDICTION DURING THE COLD SEASON,
CLIMATE SERVICES FOR AGRICULTURE
FIRE – DANGER ESTIMATES DURING THE DRY SEASON EARLY WARNING OF EXTREME WEATHER
CLIMATE SERVICES FOR AGRICULTURE
ZONE 4: NORTH-EASTERN HALF ZIMBABWE. INCREASED CHANCES OF NORMAL TO BELOW-NORMAL RAINFALL ZONE 5: SOUTH-WESTERN HALF OF ZIMBABWE. INCREASED CHANCES OF NORMAL TO BELOW-NORMAL RAINFALL
SEASONAL WEATHER FORECAST (OND 2011)
ZONE 4: NORTHERN HALF OF ZIMBABWE. INCREASED CHANCES OF ABOVE NORMAL TO NORMAL RAINFALL ZONE 5: SOUTHERN HALF OF ZIMBABWE. INCREASED CHANCES OF ABOVE NORMAL TO NORMAL RAINFALL
SEASONAL WEATHER FORECAST (JFM 2012)
THE NUMBERS FOR EACH ZONE INDICATE THE PROBABILITIES OF RAINFALL IN EACH OF THE THREE CATEGORIES, BELOW-NORMAL, NORMAL AND ABOVE-NORMAL.
SEASONAL WEATHER FORECAST
THE TOP NUMBER INDICATES THE PROBABILITY OF RAINFALL OCCURRING IN THE ABOVE-NORMAL CATEGORY, THE MIDDLE NUMBER IS FOR NORMAL AND THE BOTTOM NUMBER IS FOR BELOW-NORMAL
SEASONAL WEATHER FORECAST
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION (AGRITEX) DOWNSCALES THE SEASONAL WEATHER FORECAST AND ADVISES FARMERS ON CROPPING PATTERNS AND LIVESTOCK NUMBERS
OTHER SERVICES
DURING THE GROWING SEASON THE NATIONAL EARLY WARNING UNIT WITHIN AGRITEX IN CONSULTATION WITH THE METEOROLOGICAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT PRODUCES AND DISTRIBUTES THE CROP AND LIVESTOCK SITUATION REPORT TO STAKEHOLDERS
OTHER SERVICES
CROP AND ANIMAL PRODUCTION IS AFFECTED BY CLIMATE VARIABILITY AND CHANGE
PROVISION OF CLIMATE SERVICES IN A TIMELY MANNER CAN ASSIST THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR TO INCREASE PRODUCTION
CONCLUSION
A MAJOR CHALLENGE IS THE PRODUCTION OF HIGH QUALITY CLIMATE PRODUCTS AND TIMELY PROVISION CLIMATE SERVICES TO USERS THAT ARE MOST THAT ARE MOST VULNERABLE TO AND HAVE THE LEAST ADAPTIVE CAPABILITY OF THE NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF THE WEATHER AND CLIMATE