Farmers appeal for harvesters

Elita Chikwati Senior Agriculture Reporter
Farmers have appealed to Government to mobilise harvesting equipment to make the operation easier and reduce losses.

The farmers made the appeal during the tour of Command wheat farms in Mashonaland East by Acting President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Tuesday. Acting President Mnangagwa was accompanied by Agriculture Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Minister, Dr Joseph Made, technical committee chairperson, Air Marshall Perrance Shiri, Mashonaland East Minister of State, Retired Brigadier Ambrose Mutinhiri and permanent secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture Engineer Ringson Chitsiko among others.

Briefing on the performance of Mashonaland East in wheat production, Provincial Crops and Livestock Production Officer, Mr Leonard Munamati said farmers were doing well although they were faced with a shortage of equipment. Acting President Mnangagwa said he would check on the availability of combine harvesters in the province.

“We are buying combine harvesters to be used in summer. So far, we have replaced 86 combine harvesters countrywide. “The programme of combine harvesters is implemented at provincial level and it is the Minister of State who sees how the districts can benefit from the machinery.

“The State will check on the districts. We want to get to a point where we have a combine harvester per every ward,” he said. “Ward 8 does not have a single combine harvester.

“We have ordered several combine harvesters, but these are ordered at national level then they are distributed to provinces and the Minister of State with his committee sits down and distributes the machinery.”