Speaking to a local daily, Jiri said farmers should safeguard their crops by adhering to agronomic practices.

"Farmers should adhere to agronomic practices to ensure that they safeguard their crops such as maize and tobacco, too much rain is not good for crops and livestock, crops like tobacco become hail damaged, and there is nothing that can be done for hail damaged tobacco.

"For crops like maize there will be a need to look at the crop condition. Usually nitrogenous fertilizers become leached. Farmers therefore need to apply top dressing fertilizer as quickly as possible to correct nitrogen deficiency," he said.

Jiri said northern provinces of the country were mostly affected.

"There is a need for farmers to put preventive sprays before the rains and scout the crops regularly, maize and tobacco farmers should put curative sprays and to follow cultural practices by improving ventilation in greenhouse crops", said Jiri.