Another bumper wheat harvest expected

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THE minister of Agriculture, Anxious Masuka, says the government anticipates a winter wheat harvest of 408 000 metric tonnes (MT) this year, compared to the 375 000 MT achieved last year, with nearly 72 000 hectares (ha) of winter wheat already planted.
This comes as the government has ringfenced water and electricity supplies for winter wheat farmers.
In an exclusive interview this week with The Financial Gazette, Masuka said the hectarage target for this year is 85 000ha.
“This target will be surpassed. The various schemes — presidential, self-financed, privately financed, and government-guaranteed (AFC and CBZ) — are all on target.

“We even have wheat import inquiries from two countries and marketing arrangements are in place, with a good pre-planting producer price of US$520 per MT. Support from the African Development Bank (AfDB) in the form of US$8,6 million will contribute another
8 000 ha through AFC.”
Last year, Zimbabwe produced 4,8 MT/ha after planting 80 800 ha to produce a national record wheat crop of just above 375 000 MT.
“If we can accelerate planting, as we envisage to do, especially under the Presidential Input Scheme, so that all inputs reach the intended beneficiaries in time, then the prospects of exceeding budgeted yields are even higher.
“I am confident that this year we will beat the target of 85 000 ha, exceed the target of 408 000 MT, and also exceed the target yield of 4,8 MT/ha,” he said.
Commenting on the ongoing tobacco marketing season, Masuka said at least 217 million kg has been marketed compared to just over 143 million kg last year.
“Our tobacco has been marketed to over 40 destinations this year. The average price is US$3/kg, marginally above last year. Farmers have pocketed over US$653 million, compared to only US$450 million last year.
“Farmers are being paid 85 percent in US dollar and the balance in local currency. This ZWL payment in an inflationary environment has been a subject of recent discussion.

“Again, we are thankful to all stakeholders in this important industry for working to make the Tobacco Transformation Plan a reality,” he added.
Masuka said side-marketing remains a cancer that must be eliminated as it continues to affect contractors funding most of the crop.
“I am pleased that the TIMB is acknowledging that this fight demands an all-stakeholder approach, from government putting in place legislation (and enforcing it), as we have done to criminalise side-marketing, to instilling discipline among growers, contractors, auction floors and others playing their part.
“The enlarged compliance department at TIMB will assist in curbing side-marketing. A whistle-blower system has assisted the TIMB to unearth and investigate internal connivance and possible tampering with of the database for purposes of side-marketing.
“Some 37 000 grower numbers were subsequently flagged and eliminated by the TIMB this marketing season. Some 147 000 growers remain in the system,” Masuka further said.

According to National Development Strategy 2, the country’s envisaged transformation is anchored on the philosophy that “as Zimbabwe is an agro-based economy, agricultural development should cause rural industrialisation.

In turn, rural industrialisation should cause rural development. And rural development should catalyse and accelerate the attainment of Vision 2030.
“This philosophy requires that logically — production, aggregation, logistics, storage, marketing, value addition, and beneficiation — be part of the agricultural transformation strategy.
“We have forged very strong sector relationships with industry and commerce and I have weekly meetings with all stakeholders in the value chain for this grand strategy to be brought to fruition,” he further said.
The minister said the country was making steady progress, but much more needed to be done to build, broaden and deepen strong, viable, sustainable, fair, equitable, and transparent value chains.
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