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Farmers have harvested over 17 000 tonnes of wheat from the first 3 400 hectares of early planted wheat with adequate combine harvesters in place as the main crop moves towards maturity with most of the wheat expected to be harvested this month.
The Grain Marketing Board has started receiving wheat and has designated 18 intake depots for collecting wheat.
Agricultural Advisory and Rural Development Services chief director Professor Obert Jiri said all the handling equipment such as combine harvesters were in place and the harvest was going on smoothly.
“So far there are no challenges. Equipment is in place and sufficient enough to all the farmers. Farmers are harvesting the early planted crop. So far so good since everything is in the right direction,” he said.
He said wheat harvesting is taking place in all provinces except Matabeleland North.
Chief economist of Commercial Farmers Union Ms Antonette Chingwe said with the increase in the harvest as Zimbabwe moves into self-sufficiency there was improvement in equipment for harvesting.
“We are expecting an improvement in yield and we are hoping that we can do it in the next season so that we meet our annual demand. Combine harvesters have improved significantly. Costs of inputs were relatively high,” she said.
It is envisaged that by the end of this move, the bulk of the crop would have been harvested.
Wheat, since it is grown entirely under irrigation in the winter, is not affected by rainfall patterns so long as the rainfall is adequate to fill up the dams which supply the irrigation.
Zimbabwe is expecting a bumper harvest of 380 000 tonnes this year, the first time since commercial wheat production started in 1966 that the country has reached self-sufficiency.
Last season, farmers produced enough wheat to cover around nine months’ supply of domestic demand, a major improvement, with GMB receiving 156 144 tonnes from the farmers it had under contract.
Online Reporter