*Hailstorm wipes out over 400 tonnes of crops
*Farmers count their losses as workers face the axe
For Lawrence Layani Pontsho, October 5th will forever be remembered as the day his farming dreams came crashing down.
Just as he prepared to harvest months of hard work and cash in on his investment, a devastating hailstorm swept through Pandamatenga, wiping out thousands of cabbages and watermelons and leaving him staring at financial ruin.
More than 6,000 heads of cabbage and another 6,000 watermelons were destroyed, turning what should have been a rewarding harvest into a nightmare of debt and lost income.
“Mr. Veg was supposed to come and get their order, but all that is lost because we now have nothing to sell,” said the heartbroken farmer.
He said he had invested more than P150, 000 in his farming operation and was expecting returns ranging from P600,000 to P800,000. Instead, he is now left counting his losses, with debts mounting and no produce to sell.
The emotional strain has been so severe that he says he needed medical attention following the devastating blow.
And while the farmer struggles to come to terms with his misfortune, another painful reality awaits him; laying off workers who depend on the farm for their livelihoods.
“Now I’m left in debt, and have to let my workers go. I can’t keep them because there is nothing to do,” he said dejectedly.
Pontsho’s misfortune is part of a wider agricultural disaster that has ravaged horticultural farms in Pandamatenga, destroying crops worth hundreds of tonnes and threatening livelihoods across the farming community.
Pandamatenga small-scale farmers’ agronomist Koziba Mathethe confirmed that more than 20 hectares of farmland had been affected when the unprecedented hailstorm struck. Three farms were completely wiped out.
Among the losses were more than 90 tonnes of butternut grown on 2.7 hectares and about 80 tonnes of watermelons. Maize planted on one hectare, jam squash covering 0.75 hectares, chilies, green peppers, tomatoes and cabbages were also affected.
The destruction has left farmers empty-handed, with crops that were ready or nearing harvest wiped out before they could generate an income.
Mathethe warned that small businesses and vegetable vendors who depend on local farm produce would also feel the impact, while casual labourers face an uncertain future as damaged farms struggle to resume production.
“Casual labourers will be unemployed for a while,” he said before urging farmers to invest in insurance to protect their crops and farms against natural disasters.
