Chronicle Editor
Munyaradzi Musiiwa, Midlands Correspondent
THE Government is targeting putting 75 000 hectares under wheat production in the forthcoming winter cropping season to ease the spike in demand for wheat.
In an interview, Agriculture Land and Rural Resettlement Deputy Minister Vangelis Haritatos said Government had adequate farming inputs for wheat production.
Deputy Minister Haritatos said 60 000 hectares will be under Command Agriculture while 15 000 ha will be sponsored by the private sector under a private – public partnership (PPP).
He said the country’s major sources of water had adequate water to irrigate the required hectares. “The country’s water bodies have enough water to sustain the targeted hectarage to be put under wheat this winter season. Wheat has always been a scarce commodity in Zimbabwe even prior to independence so what we have done this year is that we have a private-public partnership (PPP).
“We have 15 000 hectares that are being sponsored by the private sector, we have 60 000 hectares under the Command Agriculture programme. We have enough inputs. We have adequate seed, fertilisers and chemicals,” Deputy Minister Haritatos said.
Government, he said, was looking forward to producing 70 percent of the country’s annual demand for wheat.
“So in total we have 75 000 hectares that we are going to put under wheat production. If we do well on this we will produce more than 70 percent of the country’s annual demand for wheat. The deficit will be 30 percent,” Deputy Minister Haritatos said.
He said farmers should capitalise on the new producer price of wheat and maximise production.
Deputy Minister Haritatos said if the country meets its wheat production target, it will reduce the import bill significantly as it will only import the 30 percent deficit.
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