Farmers must urgently invest in climate-resilient horticulture and hybrid seed varieties to survive a forecasted Super El Niño that threatens to devastate national food security, a top agronomist has warned.
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Read E-PaperSpeaking at a vegetable field day in Arcturus, Mashonaland East, Seed Co Group Head of Agronomy for Africa Wendy Madzura urged farmers to embrace improved horticultural varieties capable of withstanding the severe weather shocks expected from the impending Super El Niño.
“Zimbabwean farmers are being encouraged to adopt improved, climate-resilient horticultural varieties, including hybrids, to sustain production amid growing climate shocks.
“Farmers must embrace varieties that can better withstand challenging weather conditions as Zimbabwe prepares for a forecasted Super El Niño,” she said.
The warning comes as Zimbabwe braces for the potentially devastating weather phenomenon, historically linked to crippling droughts across Southern Africa that decimate staple crop yields and leave millions food insecure.
Madzura said that the message is unequivocal, climate-smart agriculture is no longer a choice but a survival imperative.
“The message is clear, climate-smart agriculture is no longer optional, it is key to protecting harvests, incomes and food security.
“For farmers, resilient seed means a better chance of maintaining yields, protecting household incomes and keeping markets supplied even when weather patterns become unpredictable.”
The agronomist stressed that horticulture offers a critical pathway for farmers to diversify away from rain-dependent staple crops and build economic resilience against El Niño-induced droughts.
“This supports the Government’s six-pillar climate-resilience strategy and the NDS2 drive for sustainable agricultural productivity, food security and a resilient economy,” Madzura said. “Build resilience. Grow more. Feed Zimbabwe.”
The push aligns with the government’s National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2), which prioritizes sustainable agricultural productivity as an anchor for economic recovery. Authorities fear a repeat of past El Niño events that triggered severe food shortages and economic instability.
Madzura’s call places horticulture at the centre of Zimbabwe’s climate adaptation battle, urging farmers to treat resilient seed investment not as an expense but as essential insurance against a volatile climate future.
