Farai Mabeza, Senior Staff Writer 
THE government says it will increase its targeted production of drought-resistant crops such as cotton and sunflower as part of measures to mitigate the impact of climate change.
Zimbabwe has been experiencing frequent droughts due to climate change, which has negatively impacted on agricultural output.
“Following submissions from the minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Cabinet took the strategic decision to include sunflower and cotton as part of the country’s oil seeds basket, in order to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change.
Monica Mutsvangwa, Information Minister
“Resultantly, the targeted hectarage for sunflower and cotton has been reviewed upwards,” Information minister, Monica Mutsvangwa told journalists in a recent post-Cabinet briefing.
Mutsvangwa added that subscription for the climate-proofed Presidential Inputs/Pfumvudza/Intwasa Supply Scheme had seen a huge increase with 2,484 million households already rolling out the programme, compared to the 1,5 million recorded during the same time last year.
“Inputs distribution for the … Pfumvudza/Intwasa … scheme is in full swing across the country. The inputs distribution under the National Enhanced Agriculture Productivity Scheme is being accelerated,” she said.
The government is also targeting two million hectares of maize, 70 000 hectares of soyabean and 655 000 hectares of traditional grains.
Meanwhile, a total of 114 721 tobacco growers have registered for the 2021/2022 season, compared to 124 943 growers who had registered during the same period last season.
To date, the total area planted is 31 percent above that planted last season, with a total of 345 new growers.
According to Mutsvangwa, a total of 1,293 million metric tonnes of grain, comprising maize, soya beans, wheat and traditional grains, have so far been delivered to the Grain Marketing Board.
“(This) is a phenomenal increase from last year’s comparative deliveries of 327 446 metric tonnes. Cumulatively, 227 000 metric tonnes of wheat have been delivered to date,” she said.
Wheat production is being funded under three initiatives being fronted by CBZ and Agribank, private companies and the Presidential Inputs Scheme.
Currently, the number of wheat farmers in the country is around 2 000, according to official figures.
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