Manicaland dry spell threatens maize, tobacco crops

A stubborn dry stretch is frying fields in Manicaland Province, and farmers are staring at shrinking harvests right when crops needed steady moisture the most.

Manicaland fields buckle under the heat

• Manicaland Province farmers say the rain has vanished for weeks.
• Temperatures have battered maize and tobacco, leaving leaves droopy.
• Several communities fear shrinking income and thinner food stores.
• Many smallholders rely entirely on rainfall, which has stalled.

Critical crop stages at risk

• Vegetative fields are struggling without steady moisture.
• Tasselling maize demands heavy water to form solid cobs.
• Flowering crops are hitting a wall under scorching weather.
• Yields could slide further if showers keep dodging farms.

Power cuts stall irrigation plans

• Skumbuzo Todhlana leads the Middle Sabi Farmers Association.
• According to Todhlana, the last decent rain fell weeks ago.
• ZESA cut electricity over unpaid bills, crippling irrigation schemes.
• Save River water sits nearby, yet pumps stay silent.

Tobacco and grains respond differently

• Edward Dune heads the Tobacco Farmers Union Trust.
• Dune says dryland tobacco is maturing oddly under stress.
• Leaf quality may dip if the heat keeps cooking the fields.
• Finger millet and rapoko are holding up better.