Chronicle Editor
DEFYING erratic rains over the 2022/2023 summer growing season, farmers will harvest between three and 250 percent more in food crops this year relative to the 2021/2022 period.
The remarkable performance guarantees the country enough food for the next 12 months, and a significant surplus.
Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said on Wednesday that the projection is based on findings of a recent crop, livestock and fisheries assessment conducted by the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate, Fisheries and Rural Development.
This year’s maize harvest is forecast to be 58 percent higher at 2,3 million tonnes while finger millet will be 250 percent more than last year and soya bean at 13 percent growth rate.
“The estimated maize production is 2 298 281 tonnes, a 58 percent increase on the 2021/2022 season,” she said, “traditional grains production is estimated at 280 966 tonnes a 45 percent increase on the 2021/2022 figure; sorghum production is expected to be 191 125 tonnes which is 32 percent more than production in the 2021/2022 season; pearl millet production is expected to be 171 221 tonnes which is 61 percent more than what was produced in 2021/2022 season and finger millet production is expected to be 18 610 tonnes, which is 250 percent more than what was produced in the 2021/2022 season.”
In total, cereal production will be 2 579 247 tonnes against a national requirement for a year of 1 837 742 tonnes for human consumption and 450 000 tonnes for livestock.
“Soya bean production is estimated at 93 089 mt, a 13 percent increase on the 2021/2022 season; groundnut production increased by 118 percent from 98 765 tonnes in the 2021/2022 season to 214 145 tonnes this season; sugar bean increased by 23 percent to 31 274 tonnes in 2022/2023,” said Minister Mutsvangwa.
The national beef herd grew last year to 5,6 million animals from 5,5 million in 2021, total milk production was 91,4 million litres in 2022 from 79,6 million litres in 2021 and broiler meat production increased to 191 813 tonnes in 2022, 32 percent up from 143 500 tonnes the previous year.
Cotton, yet another key crop, did well too as output in the 2022/2023 season is seen at 152 472 tonnes, a three percent increase from the previous season while tobacco production is estimated by nine percent to 234 745 tonnes.
All this is due to the various programmes that the Government is implementing to ensure national food security.
They include the Presidential Climate-Proofed Inputs Scheme; the Presidential Climate-Proofed Cotton Scheme; the Presidential Rural Development Programme; the Presidential Blitz Tick Grease Scheme; the Presidential Community Fisheries Scheme; the Presidential Poultry Scheme; the Presidential Goat Scheme and the Vision 2030 Accelerator Model.
Food security is essential for people’s economic and social well-being. Access to enough nutritious food is a big definer of human well-being.
Lack of it is the defining characteristic of poverty. Without enough food, Vision 2030 of an empowered upper-middle income economy, cannot be achieved.
That is why the Government has concentrated so much effort on ensuring that the people have enough food.
Yes, it is important to build roads, bridges, airports and so on but great civilisations are always built on enough food, on productive agricultural industries.
Enough food unleashes all other human potentials.
Therefore, the progress the country is realising in promoting food security of citizens is gratifying. It indicates that the country is on the rise.
As we hail the bumper 2022/2023 harvest, we see it vital for the Government to, as we look ahead, redouble its efforts to assist farmers to produce enough food for themselves and their country.
The private sector has been very influential as well, just as development agencies have been.
The former is providing commercial loans to farmers who demonstrate ability to pay back the advances while the latter is working with the needy, who, because of their circumstances, do not qualify for commercial loans.
That joint effort is to be commended.
It is pleasing too that the Government has already started mobilising and distributing inputs for the 2023/2024 farming season, just as farmers are beginning to harvest the past season’s crop.
This is clear evidence of the seriousness that authorities attach to national food security.
We expect more effort by the Government, private sector and development agencies to also enhance the country’s water harvesting and irrigation capacities so that even if rain-fed production is poor in some seasons, farmers will irrigate and produce.
Online Reporter