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Samuel Kadungure Mutare Bureau
The Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development has embarked on a post-harvest assessment of all crops in Manicaland to evaluate the actual yield per hectare, as well as train farmers on proper storage to minimise losses.
This was done on sampled farmers across the province by Agritex officials, who are now putting the data together.
A recent second crop assessment had projected that the province will record its biggest grain yield of at least 270 000 tonnes of maize and 60 000 tonnes of an assortment of small grains.
Statistics released by the acting Manicaland Agritex provincial officer, Mrs Phillipa Rwambiwa, indicate that a total of 265 000 hectares of maize were planted, of which 14,580ha were under the Command Agriculture programme and 250 420ha were planted by smallholder A1, old resettlement and communal farmers, most of whom received assistance under the Presidential Inputs Scheme.
Agronomists used a conservative average yield of 1,5t/ha for the smallholder farmers and 2,8t/ha for commercial and Command Agriculture yield.
An average yield of 41 000 tonnes is expected under the Command Agriculture programme, leaving smallholder farmers being the major contributors to the provincial grain pool, with a projected average yield of 229 000 tonnes.
Sorghum constituted 59 000ha and 36 300 tonnes are expected at an average yield of 0,6t/ha, while 39 000ha were put under pearl millet and 19 500 tonnes are expected at an average of 0,5t/ha.
“Some farmers have shelled, and we were on the ground across the province to see if what had been projected in the second crop assessment was correct,” said Mrs Rwambiwa. “We are moving around collecting data on the actual harvest, and we are still compiling the statistics.
“The season was very good, but we now need the real facts on the ground which is the purpose of the post-harvest assessment.”
The 2016-17 farming season was good, and characterised by high rainfall.
Manicaland received an average of 1 015mm of rainfall, which is 636mm more than last year.
Mrs Rwambiwa said harvesting was now in full swing, as the moisture content on the crops planted late had reduced, resulting in increased deliveries to Grain Markerting Board depots across the province.
GMB buys grains with a moisture content of 12,5 percent.
Mrs Rwambiwa said farmers should embrace new storage technology, metal silos, special storage bags, and new granary models to reduce post-harvest losses due to pests in maize, while improving smallholder farmers’ food security.
She said this area required special attention because smallholder farmers ended up selling their grain soon after harvest, only to buy it back at higher prices just a few months after harvest.
Mrs Rwambiwa said the potential impact of increased maize productivity on poverty reduction and greater livelihood security would not be realised unless technological and institutional innovations were identified and deployed to overcome the chronic syndrome of “sell low” and “buy high”.
“The potential impact on poverty reduction and greater livelihood security will not be realised if farmers are unable to store grains and sell surplus production at attractive prices,” she said.
She said metal silos and hermitic bags were developed as valid options and had proven effective in protecting stored grains from attack by storage insect pests.
“Smallholder farmers in communal areas have been losing their maize harvests due to poor storage facilities, and can now effectively store their grain in metal silos and super bags, whose aims are to improve food security and reduce vulnerability of resource-poor farmers,” said Mrs Rwambiwa.
Online Reporter