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Elita Chikwati Senior Agriculture Reporter
Farmers can continue planting summer crops until mid-January, Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Minister Anxious Masuka has said.
Addressing young farmers recently in Harare, Minister Masuka urged farmers to speed up planting.
“The 2021/2022 season is upon us. Although there has been a delayed start to the season, the rains are finally upon us, throughout the country.
“I urge all our farmers to expedite land preparation and planting. Planting can continue to 15 January, and let us switch to short season maize varieties, traditional grains and sunflower,” he said.
Minister Masuka said Government had made the bold and strategic decision to include sunflower and cotton as the primary oil seed crops alongside the conventional soya bean.
“This must, of necessity, spur rural agricultural development, leading to rural industrialisation and in turn causing rural development, which must facilitate and accelerate the attainment of Vision 2030.
“In a season like this, I urge youth to take advantage of the Government policy of incentivising sunflower production through the good support price announced recently,” he said.
Farmers have so far planted 1 560 hectares of sunflower.
Government recently announced a pre-planting producer price of $150 636.20 per tonne for soyabeans.
Online Reporter