Advocates4earth frameworks a way forward for climate conservation. Meteorology News by Regina Pasipanodya - March 12, 20200 Advocates4earth has outlined issues that have been affecting the climate changes in Zimbabwe and the possible solutions that can be implemented by the government and the citizens. At a seminar recently held in Harare, the chairperson for Advocates4earth ,Mr Lenin Chisaira stated that Zimbabwe cannot adapt to climate change.He also added on to say that there is no sustainable source of income and this has led to most people to practice ways which damage the climate “Zimbabwe cannot adapt to climate changes, if natural hazards hit the country there are not enough resources to avoid them into becoming a disaster ,””Lack of sources of income has forced many into practicing activities that are damaging the climate ,many people have no option than
BirdLife Zimbabwe condemns vulture poisoning in Featherstone Animal Husbandry News by Regina Pasipanodya - January 23, 2020January 23, 20200 BirdLife Zimbabwe (BLZ) strongly condemns the recent accidental poisoning and death of fifty two critically endangered White-backed Vultures that took place in Featherstone (Central Zimbabwe) on the 13th of January 2020. Seventy vultures were located over a two-day period of which fifty one had perished. Nineteen live birds were collected and rushed to Harare for treatment. One bird died in transit and another individual succumbed after three days of treatment. Of the remaining seventeen birds, two are still in a critical condition while fifteen are currently under rehabilitation with the aim of releasing them back into the wild. Many thanks to Josh Stafford, Craig Mirams, Tracey Couto and others for their quick response, climbing trees at all hours of the night
$700 000 worth of property lost in Chivhu due to heavy rains Meteorology News by Regina Pasipanodya - December 11, 2019December 11, 20190 The Meteriological Services Department has revealed that the heavy rains being experienced countrywide has caused damage estimated at $700 000 at Chivhu Prison, 140km south of Harare. In a statement the MSD said, “The following rainfall amounts were typically from yesterday’s activity: 84mm at Mukandi, 61mm at Mutoko, 44mm (Kezi), 37mm (Buhera), 30mm (Rusape) and 27mm (Mount Darwin) and caused damages to properties across the country. “Where possible stay indoors and off the roads. If outdoors, seek shelter immediately, but do not seek shelter under a tree or in isolated sheds. “Avoid crossing flooded rivers and swollen streams where the depth is unknown. In case of severe thunderstorms, it’s best to be indoors.” The rains have also provided a breeding ground for mosquitoes and
Advice: Plant short season varieties, 2019/20 Agriculture News by Regina Pasipanodya - December 3, 20190 By Regina Pasipanodya Farmers in Zimbabwe are urged to plant short season seed varieties and embrace conservation agriculture which preserves soil moisture as the 2019/20 seasonal rain forecast points short season with heavy rains. The 2019/20 seasonal rainfall forecast presented the Meteorology Department last week revealed that the season will be short, and the rains are expected a little bit late and urged farmers to plan adequately and make informed decisions. “Farmers need to prepare in order to survive this challenge because there will be too much water in a very short period of time soil water recharge and as such, they need to buy seed varieties that are drought tolerant. “In regions that used to grow long season seed varieties they need to
Drought claims 115 elephants at the Hwange National Park Animal Husbandry News by Regina Pasipanodya - November 12, 2019November 12, 20190 At least 115 elephants have died at Hwange National Park this year due to the shortage of food and water. Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) spokesperson Mr Tinashe Farawo told The Herald that water reservoirs were drying up. He said at Hwange National Park, 105 elephants died between September and October. Since the beginning of this month, 10 elephant deaths have been recorded at the same park, but the number could be higher. He said Hwange National Park has the biggest population of elephants in the country. “Ideally, Hwange National Park should have a maximum of about 5 000 elephants. However, we have more than 50 000 elephants in the park now. They are competing with other animals for scarce resources. Most of
Over 4000 cattle die in Masving alone due to drought Animal Husbandry News by Regina Pasipanodya - November 5, 20190 By Regina Pasipanodya Over 4000 cattle die in Masvingo due to Elnino induced drought recently, an official has revealed. According to a Zbc report, Zimuto area in Masvingo revealed a desperate state of affairs with communal farmers fearing for their livestock due to the harsh environmental conditions. The veterinary service department director for Masvingo, Dr. Earnest Dzimwasha said Chiredzi and Mwenezi are the most affected areas as prolonged dry spells continue. “So far 4000 cattle death has been recorded in this province alone due to drought”, said Dr. Dzimwasha.
Tokwe-Mukosi Dam to boost sugar-cane production Agriculture News by Regina Pasipanodya - November 5, 2019November 5, 20190 by Regina Pasipanodya ZIMBABWE has a huge potential for sugar-cane production, a senior official has said, adding the Tokwe-Mukosi Dam provides the industry with new water resources that should increase land under irrigated sugarcane by between 17 000 and 25 000 hectares. “This opportunity has the potential to increase cane production by a further 1,7 and 2,5 million tonnes for processing into sugar for export, ethanol for fuel blending or industrial applications for stock feed production and electricity generation,” Zimbabwe Sugar Association chairman Mr. Muchadeyi Masunda said. Mr. Masunda was addressing a conference on sugar and ethanol in Harare last week. The US$300 million Tokwe-Mukosi Dam is the largest inland dam and was completed in 2016 with a capacity of 1,8 billion cubic metres,
New terms for funding on Command agric Agriculture News by Regina Pasipanodya - November 5, 2019November 5, 20190 by Regina Pasipanodya The Government of Zimbabwe has introduced new funding conditions for Command Agriculture that require farmers to approach banks for support in grain production during the 2019-20 summer cropping season. According to the government, the move will help the farmers to boost production and do away with unscrupulous business people who used to abuse inputs under Command Agriculture. The government has entered into partnerships with Agribank, CBZ, Stanbic and Women’s Bank to manage and disburse funds for the programme. Image Credit: The Herald Zimbabwe These banks shall support A1, A2 and other large-scale farmers into soya-bean and maize production. Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union (ZCFU) president Mr. Wonder Chabikwa yesterday said farmers welcomed the new conditions as Government has guaranteed the availability of the loans. He
Heat wave hits Zimbabwe Meteorology News by Regina Pasipanodya - November 1, 2019November 1, 20190 Heat Wave hits Zimbabwe SOME parts of the country experienced record-breaking high temperatures yesterday as Zimbabwe came under the spell of a heatwave that is also expected to affect the country for a number of days, the Meteorological Services Department (MSD) has said. MSD forecaster Mr James Ngoma yesterday said very hot temperatures were recorded in Nyanga, where they topped 38 degrees Celsius, up from the previous record of 32 degrees Celsius. “Chisengu and Mutare recorded 39 degrees Celsius and 40 degrees Celsius, up from 37 degrees Celsius and 39 degrees Celsius, respectively,” he said. Kariba recorded the highest temperature of 42 degrees Celsius, Victoria Falls 40, Great Zimbabwe 29, Vumba 35, Harare 35, Bulawayo 35, Gweru 35, Mutare 40, Lupane, 42,
Kuimbashiri hosts kid fishing competition News by Regina Pasipanodya - October 30, 2019December 9, 20190 One of the biggest bird parks in Zimbabwe, Kuimbashiri hosts an annual kid’s competition at Lake Chivero recently. In an interview with The Soil, Kuimbashiri founder and owner Gary Stafford said the idea of a kid’s competition is to educate children on the importance of living in harmony with nature from a tender age. “As you have seen at this competition, kids a given a chance to spend their time fishing at the Lake and the fun part is they are going to bring their catch for weighing and return it into the Lake. Gary said every child is going to get something from the competition even though they fail to catch anything. “We have organized sponsorship so that every child will win and
