adminFreedom Mupanedemo
Midlands Bureau
MORE silos are now planned with warehouses to be used as temporary storage of reserves as Zimbabwe is now harvesting its first ever winter wheat that meets self-sufficiency and wheat and other grains move regularly into surplus harvests.
Addressing farmers and other stakeholders during the Zimbabwe Farmers Union (ZFU) Congress in Gweru last week, Lands Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Minister Dr Anxious Masuka said as the first ever wheat surplus was being harvested and other bulk grains were coming into surplus, storage needed to be expanded.
“We used to produce wheat only enough for three months. Now we are expecting a surplus of wheat as we anticipate around 383 000 tonnes while the nation requires only 360 000 tonnes. We want to be food sufficient and cushion ourselves against the effects of climate change and global instability due to wars and diseases. This means we need to expand our silos.
“We need more space for reserves and for a start we can put the excess in warehouses while GMB is erecting some more silos”.
Minister Masuka said the Second Republic was forging ahead with creating a self-sufficient economy in terms of food security and this time around the country was harvesting enough wheat.
Zimbabwe Farmers Union president Mr Abdul Nyathi said the ZFU was grateful for the support that Government was giving towards improving Agriculture.
But there was a need for more financial support for the country to achieve Vision 2030.
“We need to understand that as farmers, we cannot go it alone. We need financial partners to be successful in our businesses. I therefore call upon you to have joint collaborations that can help in making the agriculture sector great. I challenge everyone else to have deliberations that will transform the country’s food security,” Mr Nyathi said.
He said the country was preparing for the 2022-2023 farming season and urged farmers to get ready for the cropping season.
Online Reporter