Extreme Weather in Zambia on Monday, 02 April, 2012 at 07:59 (07:59 AM) UTC.

Heavy rain has wreaked havoc in Mpulungu’s Kasakalawe Village in the Northern Province destroying more than seven hectares of cassava fields. Mpulungu District Agriculture Co-operative Officer Kennedy Sinkamba confirmed the development in a telephone interview yesterday. Mr Sinkamba said on Thursday last week, Kasakalawe village, which is made up of 189 peasant farmers experienced torrential rain which left most of the fields submerged. “On Thursday last week, we experienced heavy rains in Kasakalawe village. Most of the crops were submerged. About seven hectares of cassava fields were also destroyed after the torrential rains,” he said. Mr Sinkamba said people in Kasakalawe are peasant farmers who depend on cassava for their livelihood. He also said the torrential rains which lasted several hours also led to the collapse of houses in Musumbe village, leaving 10 people homeless. Mr Sinkamba said his office is compiling a report on the damage caused by the rain which will be submitted to the district administrative officer. He also said all the farmers who supplied maize to the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) have received their payment following government’s release of funds to settle the debt.

Mr Sinkamba also said government is implementing policies in the agriculture sector to encourage more people to engage in farming, rather than fishing. He said Mpulungu is renowned for fishing and that only a few people engage in serious farming, hence the need to attract more people to agriculture. Mr Sinkamba said government has also increased the number of beneficiaries in the current farming season to 8,000 from last year’s 5,000. He said government will also distribute subsidised rice and 50 bags of groundnuts to benefit 300 farmers. Mr Sinkamba said government is keen to promote crop diversification, hence the need to distribute groundnuts and rice to enable farmers to plant a variety of crops. “What we need is to promote the cultivation of various crops. This year, we are distributing rice and groundnut seed to promote diversification,” he said.

- RSOE Edis