Story by Peter Chivhima
ZIMBABWE’s winter wheat harvest is off to a fantastic start, with over 50 000 metric tonnes of wheat reaped in just three weeks since the beginning of the harvesting period.
This impressive yield comes from approximately 9,500 hectares of land, with an average of 5.5 metric tonnes per hectare.
Professor Obert Jiri, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, revealed that this is part of the government’s wheat-based food security strategy
“The wheat-based food security strategy is now fully in motion. So far, we have delivered to the country over 55,000 metric tons as of Friday, last week, and those are slightly over 9,500 hectares. An average yield of more than 5.5 metric tonnes per hectare.
“Obviously this is the early planted wheat that was planted at the end of April and early May.
“We are happy to say that the move and the going towards the target of 600,000 is now fully in motion. The food security situation certainly is alleviated by such a delivery. We continue to encourage our farmers to now expedite harvesting,” he said.
The government has since acquired more than 300 combine harvesters to speed up the harvesting process.
“Every wheat farmer needs to line up their access to a combine harvester, and these are now readily available.
“A total of 193 combine harvestors from the 300 have wheat heads, and these can always be juggled around.
“Normally the problem is the mobilisation and movement from field to field. That is where we want farmers to be organised in their wheat clusters to ensure that mobilisation from field to field is quickened.
“We are encouraging farmers to ensure that as soon as the moisture content allows for harvesting, they should harvest. We have worked with GMB to say that as soon as the wheat reaches about 13 percent moisture content, they should take it in and ensure that it’s not rained, it’s dried and can be stored safely,” he added.
With these initiatives in place, the government is confident that it will achieve its target of 600 000 metric tonnes of wheat to ensure food security.
