adminPrecious Manomano
Herald Reporter
A new 11-tonne club is being formed to pool top maize farmers and encourage all growers to push their yields to maximise their returns, harvests and in particular their income as national initiatives press ahead to reduce poverty and build rural incomes.
Since the costs of land preparation and inputs are largely the same for every hectare planted, the higher the yield the more the farmer earns from those fixed costs, increasing profits and reducing poverty.
The initiative groups Government with the private sector. The goal of harvests of 11 tonnes or more for each planted hectare would encourage competition among farmers leading to poverty reduction and upscaling productivity.
Speaking on the sidelines of the launch of the 11-tonne plus maize competition yesterday at Art Farm in northern Harare, Secretary for Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Dr John Basera said a 10 percent increase in agricultural productivity resulted in seven percent reduction in poverty, hence the Governments thrust in upscaling productivity levels across the several sub-sectors of crop production.
“The initiative is a productivity and enhancing stimulant programme. It’s a competition which we are trying to create so that we create a competitive space amongst our farmers.
“This is based on the reality and based on the fact that once farmers do compete yields will increase and we need to go for growth in terms of productivity levels. That’s our smartest way of coming out from poverty. We know that increasing productivity at farm hold level is indeed the smartest way to achieve agricultural transformation,” he said.
Zimbabwe Integration Commercial Farmers Union president Mrs Maivepi Jiti said the launch of 11 tonne plus club is a big measure which will ensure that level of productivity increases adding that time is also crucial in farming.
“Farmers should take farming as a business. We also appeal for the Government to get inputs on time because farming is all about time. Information and knowledge is crucial in farming. We are now anticipating better production because of this initiative,” she said.
The competition will recognize the hard working farmers have put through adoption of good agronomic practices and high-level crop management during the season.
Adoption of good agricultural practices is critical so as to unlock genetic potential genetic gains from seed varieties and breeds. That is the reason why the Government has upped the ante in providing agricultural extension services which is critical to close the gap between research and actual farmer yields.
Online Reporter