Archive for September 2024
Off the beaten track into cattle ranching territory
When I was offered the chance to come along on a trip to a remote cattle ranch in Matabeleland South, I leapt at the opportunity. My trip there was offered to me by one half of a farming family in Marondera who bought into this cattle business 15 years ago. Since then, the rancher, his…
Read MoreBuilding resilience and sustainability in agripreneurship – Reflections from the Youth Agripreneurship Summit
The Zimbabwe Farmers Union (ZFU) recently hosted a transformative Youth Agripreneurship Summit, embodying the theme Building Resilience and Sustainability in a Changing World. This event gathered farmers and aspiring agripreneurs from across the nation to explore strategies for thriving amid the challenges of an ever-changing world. A day of inspiration The summit featured a lineup…
Read MoreManaging salt injury in tobacco seedbeds
Our Tobacco Research Board, Kutsaga, has issued the following advisory on how to manage salt injury in tobacco seedbeds. The tobacco float seedling production system occasionally exposes plants to salt injury, especially where there is excessive evaporation due to winds or high temperatures. By Dr Susan Dimbi The float system technology offers numerous benefits for…
Read MoreRainfall outlook for Zimbabwe 2024/25 season
Last week, we shared the Twenty-Ninth Southern Africa Regional Climate Outlook Forum (SARCOF-29) rainy season forecast for the SADC region. This week, we are sharing our own national forecast, presented and shared by our Meteorological Services Department. The Meteorological Services Department of Zimbabwe (MSD) annually convenes a National Climate Outlook Forum (NACOF) in September, where…
Read MoreTurning off the lights at Kariba
Lake Kariba is the pride of Zimbabwe, an enduring symbol of engineering triumph. The vast man-made reservoir straddling the banks of Zambia and Zimbabwe was built on the Zambezi River. The dam and six floodgates were built between 1955 and 1959 primarily for hydropower generation. However, the El Niño event of 2023 raises concerns about…
Read MoreOutlook for Southern Africa’s climate: key findings from SARCOF-29
The Twenty-Ninth Southern Africa Regional Climate Outlook Forum (SARCOF-29) was held from August 26 to 28, 2024, in Harare. This forum brought together climate experts from various Southern African Development Community (SADC) National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) and the SADC Climate Services Centre (CSC) to assess and forecast climate patterns for the upcoming 2024/2025…
Read More