By A Correspondent- Addressing delegates at the launch of the National Fire Week at Gwebi Agricultural College Wednesday, Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement Deputy Minister Douglas Karoro called on farmers to invest in fire guards and prevent veld fires as they posed a huge threat to food security.

Karoro said failure to invest in fire guards was costly to farmers and the nation especially now when the nation was expecting a bumper harvest.

“Let us do all that we can to avoid veld fires. Imagine all the hard work that our farmers have put in place being destroyed in a matter of minutes. Food security, our economy will be adversely affected. Government will revert to food imports which gobble a large chunk of our foreign currency.”

Guest of honour at the function, which was hosted by the Environmental Management Agency held under the theme: “Veld Fires and Food Security- Protect the Harvest”, Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Mangaliso Ndlovu said while the nation celebrated theprojection of a good crop yield, there should be investment to prevent the catastrophic loses of the harvest to veld fires.

“Veld fires have become an issue of national concern given their wanton destructive nature. Each year, the nation loses over a million hectares of forests and grasslands depriving wildlife and livestock of pastures and leaving the country counting loses of property, crops and life.

The annual average burnt area from 2010-2020 was one million hectares. An average of 60 percent of the total burnt area has been under the A1 and A2 resettlement areas. Ladies and gentlemen, of the 18,000 A2 farmers, only about 400 have 99 year leases, which leases have specific clauses on environmental protection. This creates a possibility of massive information gap on the responsibilities of farmers in their properties.

“It is in this regard that we have already begun a comprehensive awareness programme with the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement through their Agritex extension services. Every farmer is expected to construct their fireguard in compliance with the laws of our country.”

Speaking at the same occation, Mashonaland West Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Mary Mliswa-Chikoka called on government to effect a penalty for those who do not invest in fire guards.

She urged the local leaders to be on the lookout for those who violated environmental best practices as a way of reducing veld fires and loss of property and deaths in the district.

The National Fire Week, launched annually on the second week of May aims at raising awareness amongst communities on the need to prevent veld fires by undertaking pre- fire suppression measures such as fireguard construction, biomass reduction and early controlled burning.