Farmers gear up for 2024/25 farming season

ZIMBABWE Farmers Union (ZFC) operations director, Dr Prince Kuipa, on Wednesday said farmers are gearing up for the 2024/25 farming season as evidenced by the advanced preparatory state.

He said there are several Government-sponsored programmes available to farmers such Pfumvudza/Intwasa Presidential Climate-Proofed Agriculture Production Scheme and the National Enhanced Agricultural Productivity Scheme that caters for A2 and large-scale farmers available to farmers.

He said financial institutions that have in the past availed financial assistance to farmers are also expected to continue with the programmes.

“Farmers are already making frantic preparations with regards to land preparations. For instance, those farmers on Pfumvudza/Intwasa Presidential Climate-Proofed Agriculture Production Scheme are expected to have by now dug the holes.

“Financial institutions with farming funding schemes should continue supporting our farmers, and we encourage farmers to approach banks early for funding,” he said.

Dr Kuipa noted that land preparation in some areas may be delayed due to input limitations.

“For instance, some areas have hard soils due to drought impacts and require heavy-duty tillage equipment. The demand for tillage units outstrips the supply, hence the expected delays.

“Despite these challenges, we expect a good farming season and the farmers are prepared.”

However, in his State of the Nation Address on Wednesday, President Mnangagwa indicated that the Rural Infrastructure Development Agency has scaled up assistance to communities with tillage activities as the summer farming season draws closer.

President Mnangagwa said Government remains optimistic of the 2024–2025 Summer Cropping Season, with projections of normal to above normal rainfall in most provinces. He said he was pleased with the pace of inputs distribution under the Pfumvudza/Intwasa Presidential Climate-Proofed Agriculture Production Scheme and other programmes.

He noted that to date, various finance institutions and private sector stakeholders have committed to support farmers under the National Enhanced Agricultural Productivity Scheme. The President noted that the Grain Marketing Board has established Agro-shops, mainly in rural depots, as part of a raft of measures to ensure food availability, at more affordable prices.

The establishment of 35 000 Village Business Units, is gaining momentum supported by the Presidential Borehole Drilling Programme and will further enhance food and nutrition security at household level. Zimbabwe and other Southern African countries are set to receive normal to above normal rainfall in the 2024/25 farming season, according to regional weather experts.

The forecast by the meteorologists during the 29th Southern Africa Regional Climate Outlook Forum (SARCOF-29) in August brought hope of improved agriculture production and better food security for the coming year. It has energising farmers who are already preparing their land and the Government that has started distributing inputs to GMB depots across the country.

The experts have advised farmers in drier regions of Matabeleland and other parts of the country to plant traditional grains suitable for their climatic conditions. Despite normal to below-normal rains from October to December, the season is expected to change to normal to above normal between January and March next year.