Zimbabwe has called on farmers and agricultural stakeholders to embrace smart agriculture to cushion against the effects of climate change ahead of the new farming season.

In a presentation during the Zimbabwe Farmers Union (ZFU) congress in at the weekend, Mr Tawanda Mangisi, representative of Sygenta Zimbabwe, a seed company stated that farmers should take heed of smart agriculture practices to ensure food security in the face of climate change.

“As a seed manufacturing company, we are calling on stakeholders to accelerate the modernization of our agriculture and gear towards transforming the sector through broadening access to agricultural inputs, promoting production and productivity, growing of new seed varieties, enhancing extension services and infrastructure. This all being aimed to counter this scourge of climate change and foster national food security,” he said.

Mr Mangisi said as part of smart agriculture, farmers are called to plant seeds designed to withstand drought conditions, extreme heat or cold to maximize production and ensure national food security.

“As Sygenta, we are encouraging farmers to grow hybrid, drought-tolerant seeds for a better market and yields. Farming is a business, so farmers should not just grow crops for the sake of it,” Mr Mangisi said.

Mr Pauk Zakariya, the executive director of ZFU said smart agriculture was necessary in the wake of climate change.

“Smart agriculture through adoption of new farming methods and technologies is the way to go in face of this climate change being experienced in contemporary times,” he said.

Prolonged dry spells experienced in the 2018/2019 season caused a significant decline in national agriculture production compared to the 2017/2018 sean, threatening national food security and the livelihoods of many rural families.

Since the turn of the year, the Government has lined up several programs and projects in support of the Smart Agriculture initiative.

Culled from www.herald.co.zw