Climate change has become a harsh daily reality for villagers in Matabeleland, with erratic rainfall, exhausted soils, dying livestock and the rapid disappearance of ancient forests, according to experts.
Rains are now erratic. “It used to start raining in September, now it rains from the end of November to December,” says a 61-year-old peasant farmer Talita Matutu of Umguza in Matabeleland North.
Seasons are now shorter. According toweatherapi.com, most parts of Matabeleland receive rain only 50 days per year, scattered thinly between October and March.
This minimal and poorly distributed rainfall leaves the land parched for much of the year.
The World Bank’s Climate Change Knowledge Portal shows Zimbabwe’s rainfall ranges from just 2mm to 160mm per month, averaging only 670mm annually.
Matabeleland falls in natural Region 5 which is characterised by erratic rainfall of less than 650mm a year.
The Food and Agricultural Organisation says the region is suitable for cattle production and game-ranching but communal farmers grow crops like maize and millet.
Mandivamba Rukuni and Carl Eicher in their book: Zimbabwe’s Agricultural Revolution say crop yields in Region 5 are extremely low and the risk of crop failure is high in one out of three years.
To compound the effects of climate change, temperatures are becoming cooler. According toNomadweather.com, Matabeleland South, traditionally hot and dry, now sees winter temperatures dropping to as low as 2°C in June and July, unusually cold for a semi-arid region.
Summer highs still soar to 46°C in October, illustrating the increasingly extreme and erratic weather conditions driven by climate change.
This shift is forcing farmers to adapt, as many now rely on drought-tolerant crops such as sorghum, pearl millet, finger millet and certain maize varieties.
Matabeleland is suited for cattle and wildlife farming, but even these are under threat because of growing water and pasture shortages which are the result of recent climate changes.
Source: CITE
Source: CITE
