Vusumuzi Dube
Judith Phiri, Business Reporter
THE Government has said the 2024/2025 summer season production plan focuses on food and feed crops, oilseeds and industrial crops, for both local consumption and export, while also targeting to increase production of cereals to over 3.2 million metric tonnes.
The summer plan is the implementation mechanism for the Agriculture, Food Systems and Rural Transformation Strategy (AFSRTS).
It comes on the back drop of an El Nino-ravaged 2023/2024 summer season and prediction of better rainfall, given the increasing probability for a La Nina phenomenon in the 2024/2025 summer season.
Cabinet on Tuesday received and noted the 2024/2025 Crops, Horticulture, Fisheries and Livestock Summer Plan, as presented by the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Dr Anxious Masuka.
In a post-Cabinet briefing, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister, Dr Jenfan Muswere said the plan targets to increase production of cereals.
“The target is to increase production of cereals from about 750 000 metric tonnes produced during the 2023/2024 summer season to over 3.2 million metric tonnes. The area under cereals is also expected to increase from about 2.3 million hectares during the 2023/2024 summer season to 2.5 million hectares,” he said.
“Maize production is expected to increase from about 635 000 metric tonnes in 2023/2024 summer season to 2.7 million metric tonnes. The average maize yield is also expected to increase from 0.8 metric tonnes per hectare in 2023/2024 summer season to 1.5 metric tonnes per hectare.”
The Minister said notably, the yield for traditional grains is expected to increase from an average of 180 kilogrammes per hectare during the 2023/2024 summer season to 800 kilogrammes per hectare.
He said the 2024/2025 Summer Plan also targets to produce 97 700 mega litres of oil, from cotton, sunflower and soyabean, with the Climate-Proofed Presidential Input Support Scheme (Pfumvudza/Intwasa) targeting to support 1.8 million households from communal, A1, small-scale commercial farming, old resettlement and peri-rural households for the production of cereals,
oilseeds and legumes.
“The total number of beneficiaries for the Pfumvudza/Intwasa programme will be 3.5 million. The distribution of inputs under the Pfumvudza/Intwasa programme will strictly target households that would have prepared a minimum of 3 plots
each measuring 39 m x 16 m (0.0624 hectares); liming and organic matter placement; and mulch collection for at least one plot,” he added.
Regarding developing the fisheries value-chain, Dr Muswere said the Government is establishing five fingerling production centres across the country to produce 60 percent of the fingerling requirement for the Presidential Community Fisheries Programme.
In respect of livestock value-chain development, he said the target for the 2024/2025 Summer Plan is to increase the beef cattle herd from 5 718 523 in 2023/2024 to 5 798 582.
The Minister said goat numbers would increase from 5 087 155 in 2023/2024 to 5 239 769.
He added: “Milk production is also expected to increase from 99 821 752 litres in 2023/2024 to 115 000 000 litres. In terms of the marketing of crops, the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) will purchase all summer crops financed under the Presidential Input Programme and ARDA Scheme as well as those by self-financed farmers, and would be the buyer of last resort.”
The Minister said contractors may arrange to sell their crops to the GMB, while they were all obliged to buy back their contracted crops at market prices.
He said self-financed farmers will sell to best advantage on the market or to the GMB.
Online Reporter