Theseus Mauruki Shambare in VICTORIA FALLS
MAIZE seed and top-dressing fertiliser needed by Pfumvudza/Intwasa farmers for the coming summer cropping season under the Presidential Inputs Programme have been secured, as Zimbabwe steps up preparations for a potentially strong El Niño that could threaten agricultural production.
About 45 percent of the required basal fertiliser for Pfumvuza farmers has been distributed, but sorghum seed availability still stands at almost 30 percent, Agriculture, Mechanisation and Water Resources Development Minister Dr Anxious Masuka has said.
The Government is targeting three million small-scale farmers under Pfumvudza/Intwasa with each expected to establish as least three plots as part of measures to strengthen household food supplies and enhance climate resilience.
However, under the Climate-Proofed Presidential Input Scheme, standard input distribution packages are designed to support up to five plots for rural households, where land availability and capacity permit.
Speaking on the sidelines of the ongoing 70th Congress of the Cooperation Centre for Scientific Research Relative to Tobacco (CORESTA) in Victoria Falls yesterday, Dr Masuka said the Government was intensifying input mobilisation and distribution ahead of the anticipated drought conditions.
The input position comes as the Government seeks to expand climate-smart agricultural production, particularly among smallholder farmers who are vulnerable to changing rainfall patterns.
Dr Masuka said more than 9,6 million Pfumvudza plots had already been prepared, putting the country on course to achieve its target of 16 million plots covering one million hectares.
The programme is targeting three million rural beneficiaries, each expected to establish at least three plots. Under the scheme, households have to include traditional grains to reduce their exposure to drought-related crop losses.
Traditional grains dominate in lower rainfall areas but this year all farmers even in better watered natural regions are expected to have at least one traditional grain plot.
“In this drought year, we want each of the three million beneficiaries to do a traditional grains crop so that they can climate-proof themselves from the expected Super El Niño this season,” Dr Masuka said.
The push for traditional grains comes as Government seeks to diversify agricultural production beyond maize and strengthen household food supplies in the face of increasingly uncertain rainfall patterns.
However, Dr Masuka said, with sorghum seed availability still below a third of requirements, timely mobilisation and distribution of the remaining seed will be important if farmers are to meet the Government’s diversification targets.
The input support programme also has a peri-urban component, with Government targeting 500 000 beneficiaries who have access to open spaces in and around towns and cities for cultivation.
The intervention is intended to cushion urban and peri-urban households that ordinarily depend on grain supplied by relatives in rural communities, particularly during seasons of reduced agricultural production.
That initiative would complement support for rural households as Government broadens its drought preparedness measures.
“The Government developed a six-point strategy to respond to the anticipated El Niño, encompassing strategic grain reserves, climate-smart production, a new financing architecture, livestock drought mitigation, imports, as well as coordination, early warning, capacity building and communication,” Dr Masuka said.
The strategy is intended to strengthen national preparedness against the potential effects of the weather phenomenon, which could undermine crop production and livestock productivity.
The 2026-2027 agricultural season is unfolding against forecasts of a strong El Niño, raising concerns over rainfall and the country’s food security.
Government has consequently urged farmers to adopt climate-smart production practices and diversify their crops, while strengthening household-level preparedness against possible dry spells.
