Government bankrolls winter wheat planting in Beitbridge

THE Government has availed critical resources to boost winter wheat production in Beitbridge through the support of the Presidential Inputs Scheme.

The district programme was launched at Tshaswingo Growth Point in Ward 3 under Beitbridge East constituency on Monday morning.

This comes as the Government is also implementing the National Enhanced Agriculture Productivity Scheme (Neaps) and private sector contractor programmes, which are regarded as key pillars, buttressing wheat production nationwide.

Winter wheat is planted in late autumn/early winter to take advantage of cooler temperatures (15–20°C) for optimal establishment, reduced pest/disease pressure, and a vernalisation period of cold required for development.

The season typically runs from late April to late May, with harvesting in early summer, covering roughly 180–250 days.

Speaking during the launch of the programme that was attended by scores of farmers and stakeholders, Beitbridge District Agricultural Extension Services Officer Mr Orpheous Ndlovu encouraged farmers to plant on time to ensure they get an optimal harvest and suffer less effect of changing weather patterns.

Winter provides cooler days and nights, allowing the crop to develop a robust root system before the warm, dry weather of late spring/early summer.

He also emphasised the need for farmers to supply the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) with some of their harvests to get maximum returns and value for their crop.

“It is advisable for farmers to adhere to the winter planting schedule to avoid unnecessary losses,” he stressed.
Several farmers, who benefitted from the Presidential Inputs Programme commended the Government for its continued support to ordinary citizens to fully participate in driving the economy through improved agriculture production.

Some said the programme will help improve issues of food and nutrition security at the household level, with more farmers now embracing wheat production.

“We appreciate the continued support we are getting from the Government and we are looking forward to an improved harvest this time around,” said a farmer from Tshaswingo.

“In addition, we are grateful for the services we are getting from the Agriculture Extension Officers within our district.”

Speaking during the same event, Welthungerhilfe Project Co-ordinator Mr Ronald Tirivavi said they were working with the Government to transform lives through supporting agriculture production.

He said they were supporting the farmers to adopt business models and to move away from subsistence farming methods.

Mr Tirivavi said the organisation was building the capacity of the farmers to access and penetrate better markets for their produce.