The four-week dry spell has caused some farmers to delay planting summer crops, which include the country’s staple corn, while those that sowed earlier have seen plants withering in the absence of rain.
However, the science is disputed by some meteorologists.
While it’s too early to estimate the effects on harvests, the government should start cloud seeding to “save the situation”, he said.
Zimbabwe has endured intermittent food shortages since the government began an often-violent programme that seized most white-owned, large-scale farms from 2000.
The situation has been exacerbated by periodic droughts.
Today, the country is a net importer of crops such as soy, used as animal feed, and, often, corn.
Traditionally, rain falls between late November and early April.
While parts of the country could expect heavy rain in January, it is mostly moving in from from the south, the department said.
Zimbabwe relies mainly on the inter-tropical convergence zone weather phenomenon, which brings rain down from the equator.
“But planting in January?