adminTendai Gukutikwa
Manicaland expects to plant 240 000ha of maize during the 2015/2016 farming season, the Agritex provincial officer for Manicaland, Mr Godfrey Mamhare, has said.
The hectarage is significantly more than that of the previous season of 192 238ha, which yielded only 0,8 tonnes of maize per hectare, a figure not enough to feed the province till the next season.
Mr Mhamhare said that in order for the province to raise its hectarage of maize this coming season, a total number of 240 000 hectares is supposed to be ploughed.
He said this while addressing Agritex officers and farmers from around the Manicaland province on a feedback meeting with the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs, Cde Mandi Chimene and the Provincial Administrator Mr Fungai Mbetsa at Mutare Hall last Friday.
Mr Mhamhare said that the country’s food security would be improved if the yield was raised from the current 0,8 tonnes of maize per hectare.
“Generally we look forward to feed the whole province and the country if all goes well. But that however, cannot be achieved if as we Manicaland farmers keep making the same mistakes in our forms of farming and facing the same challenges and at the end of the season yielding the same tonnage.
“Last year, a total number of 391 000 hectares were used under crops of which only 192 238 hectares were for maize and we still yielded below a tonne per hectare, which is not even enough for this province’s sustenance alone not to talk of the country’s.
“However, for that problem to be solved we have set aside 508 610 hectares for this season of which 240 000 hectares will cover maize only since it is the country’s staple crop.
“For us as farmers to raise our tonnage we have to know the right crops to grow in our respective areas, for instance people in Buhera should stick to sorghum and like plants and not bother on other plants that are not suitable for their area,” he said.
Mr Mhamare however, said that the hectarage for tobacco cropping was expected to drop down from last season’s 24 610 hectares to around 23 000 hectares owing to the low prices of tobacco that the farmers got last season.
“Farmers complained that the money they got from their crop was way lower than what they had invested in the tobacco crop, thus we expect the hectarage to be less than usual,” he said.
Mr Mhamare went on to advise farmers to utilise the little inputs that they had rather than sit back and wait for the government handouts.
“We all know that the economy is not performing well these days and funding from the Government might be a little less than usual but let us not take that as an excuse. There is no money in circulation but let us improvise as farmers and use the little that we have.”
The Provincial Administrator, Mr Fungai Mbetsa also told the farmers and Agritex officers that 700 000 tonnes of maize were needed to feed Manicaland province but that was still to be met since farmers in the province were harvesting less than expected in previous seasons.
Online Reporter