EZULWINI – For those wondering whether they should cultivate their fields amid the predicted super El Niño, the answer is yes.
The National Disaster Risk Management Agency (NDRMA) gave this response during a media briefing with the Eswatini Meteorological Services at Sibane Sami Hotel in Ezulwini yesterday.
In response to a question from the floor about whether farmers should begin cultivating this season despite the El Niño forecast, NDRMA Director Victor Mahlalela said it would be a mistake to advise the nation not to cultivate.
Mahlalela said cultivation had always involved risk for emaSwati and would continue to do so. Eswatini citizens depend on crop and livestock farming to support their families.
Most farmers rely on rain for their crops, meaning they could suffer if the predicted El Niño occurs.
“It is better to take the risk and fail than not to try at all. If the nation is advised not to cultivate their fields, it would mean government would have to carry the burden and provide food for everyone,” he said.
“Angeke sesisho kutsi akungalinywa eveni,” (We cannot say that people should not farm in the country), he added.
However, Mahlalela urged emaSwati to consult extension officers from the Ministry of Agriculture, as advised by Eswatini Meteorological Services Director Duduzile Nhlengetfwa.
He said the officers were best placed to recommend suitable seed varieties and crops according to farmers’ locations.
Nhlengetfwa said the Meteorological Services had met with the Ministry of Agriculture to discuss the predicted El Niño. She said the department was in constant communication with stakeholders, including the ministry and was monitoring weather patterns with its South African counterparts.
The department could not authoritatively advise farmers whether to cultivate, Nhlengetfwa said, adding that farmers who invested in farming were taking a risk. She also urged them to consult the ministry’s extension officers about suitable crops.
Nhlengetfwa said the weather patterns so far, including the ongoing September rains, were in line with the forecast of a wet month. However, she said the forecast indicated little or below-normal rainfall from October to December.
She stressed that little or below-normal rainfall did not necessarily mean there would be no rain at all.
When sought for a comment, Sydney Simelane, Principal Sectary in the Ministry of Agriculture, said it could be unethical to tell farmers not to cultivate their fields. Simelane encouraged the nation to take advantage of the first rains and cultivate their fields.
“People must take advantage of the first rains and cultivate their fields. Experience has taught us that those who take advantage of the first rains normally get a good harvest. People must cultivate and put the seed in the soil,” he said briefly.
On another note, Mahlalela said the NDRMA and its stakeholders had forecast the risks following a request at Sibaya for early weather predictions and warnings.
The nation had said early warnings could help the country prepare better and find ways to mitigate the potential impact of disasters.
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