This report covers the dry season. Most land is fallow during this period, except for some irrigated wheat and other crops.  Wheat was sown in June and harvest started in October.  For this period, the CropWatch agronomic indicators at the national scale showed an increase in rainfall (RAIN +30%) and temperature (TEMP  +0.7ºC). Similarly, there was an increase in radiation (RADPAR  +2%) and biomass production (BIOMSS +8%).  CALF was 29% and  the VCIx was at 0.57. Land preparation and planting of the 2025 rainfed cereal crops is expected to begin at the end of October 2024 and the harvest period is anticipated to start in the second quarter of next year.

Regional Analysis

Based on regional analysis, a reduction in rainfall was observed in the 228 Western Semi-arid plain (-30%), and increased rainfall in 227 Central Eastern and Southern plateau (+68%), Northern high rainfall region (+24%) and an increase in Luangwa Zambezi rift valley (+48%). There was an increase in solar radiation (+2% to +3%) observed in all the zones, an increase in potential biomass production in all the zones (+5% to +11%). The cropped arable land fraction (CALF) was below 20% in the three zones exept Northern high rainfall region (70%). Based on the Crop Production Index (CPI), except for the Northern high rainfall zone (CPI =1.0) the other regions were below 1.0 as reflected in the Western Semi-arid plain (0.00), Luangwa Zambezi rift valley (0.94), and the Central Eastern and Southern plateau (0.91).

(a) Phenology of major crops
(b) Crop condition development graph based on NDVI	(c) Maximum VCI
(d) Spatial NDVI patterns compared to 5YA	(e) NDVI departure profiles
(f) Rainfall profiles	(g) Temperature profiles
(h) National CPI time series graph

Table 3.1 Zambia's agro-climatic indicators by sub-national regions, current season's values and departure from 15YA, July‐October 2024

Table 3.2 Zambia's  agronomic indicators by sub-national regions, current season's values and departures from 5YA, July‐October 2024