By 
by Bahle Gama
As a result of the heatwave that struck the country last week, crop farmers have been affected the most and the country’s imports are expected to increase.
In an interview with National Agricultural Management Board (NAMBoard) CEO Bhekizwe Maziya, he stated that the heatwave that began on Thursday, October 31, 2024, until Sunday, November 3, 2024, resulted in damaged produce.
Maziya said severe heat causes crops to experience heat stress, increased water stress, and decreased soil moisture, impacting crop development, yields, and growth.
“We have not done an extensive progress report, but we are aware that the heatwave negatively impacted the crops considering that we are in the peak season. Therefore, there is a lot of produce from farmers, so for now, the impact has not been realised due to the numbers,” he said.
Maziya said they were still awaiting feedback from farmers countrywide to ascertain the damage in terms of the produce affected.
According to the CEO, a heatwave has two repercussions, one being a reduced flow of rivers, which results in a constrained availability of water. This means the demand for water by crops is high.
RELATED:NAMBoard rejects vegetables due to poor quality
The other is that most of the crops wilt resulting in a decline in production from farmers.
“Some crops like tomatoes and green pepper are not so tolerant to excessive heat. The problem with excessive heat when it comes to such crops is that it induces ripeness before the time for that. This results in rejections in the market,” he said.
Maziya further stated that usually when there is an outcry from farmers that NAMBoard is rejecting produce, it is because their crops have been affected by weather-related catastrophes such as heat waves.
Therefore, when the quality of the produce has been compromised, it is rejected in the market.
“Also, when we have projected surplus produce in terms of a certain crop for a certain duration, such weather conditions result in the availability not meeting the projection. Because some of the produce gets damaged and needs to be discarded,” he said.
In response to how farmers can dismantle the effects of such weather on their produce, Maziya said farmers need to stop relying on open-field farming because the risk is high.
He stated that the inconsistent weather now requires that every farmer should have a portion of the farm that is under protected farming.
“The easiest and cheapest for an ordinary farmer is a safe net, which is affected differently compared to the one under direct sunlight. Those who can afford, they can install tunnels because they are far better,” he said.
The CEO further advised that farmers should use climate-smart agricultural practices. These involve being aware of the weather and when to water or irrigate their crops.
For example, when it is extremely hot, it is advisable not to water during the day when the sun is scorching hot because that will ‘boil’ the crop. The soil is hot.
RELATED:NAMBoard’s produce sales to Shoprite skyrocket to nearly E10 Million in two years
“A farmer ought to water early in the morning before the sun comes up or later in the evening. This will allow for more water to be retained on the ground, for the benefit of the crop.
Farmers are also advised to adopt other methods including drip irrigation systems that will water the crop directly and not waste water,” he said.
The CEO further said that with such weather patterns that disturb the country’s production, the increase in imports is inevitable.
“The constrained production results in the country’s inability to meet the demand of consumers. We try and balance the public demand,” added Maziya.
