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Charity Ruzvidzo Business Reporter
LACK of funding remains one of the major challenges hampering winter wheat production in the country, the Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers’ Union president, Wonder Chabikwa, said yesterday.He said farming is a primary industry which is greatly affected by weather conditions thus the need for extra financial support.
Recently, he said, wheat farmers have not received adequate funding from the government to boost production of the crop.
Announcing the 2014 national budget last year, Finance and Economic Development Minister Patrick Chinamasa said for the 2013/14 agriculture season, the government had come up with a $161 million facility under the Basic Input Package with $157,9 million being set aside for input procurement.
The balance of $3,1 million was to cater for the rehabilitation of District Development Fund tractors and Grain Marketing Board handling costs.
“Farmers have in recent years not received enough funding from government to support winter wheat. The farmers need extra support from government as winter wheat farmers depend on irrigation which is quite expensive,” he said.
It costs about $1,200 per hectare to grow wheat in Zimbabwe compared to $230 and $600 in Ukraine and Australia respectively.
Chabikwa said lack of adequate funding was leading to low yields that could not compete at international level.
“Lack of funds leads to farmers producing wheat that cannot even compete on the international market with nations like Argentina and Canada as the wheat from local producers will be substandard,” he said.
In the 2014 national budget, Chinamasa said wheat production was estimated to have declined from 33,700 tonnes in 2012 to about 24,700 tonnes in 2013.
This was on account of declines in the area planted from 11,600 hectares in 2012 to around 8,500 ha last year. The government projects 29,000 tonnes of wheat this year.
Challenges that have continued to affect the production of wheat include erratic power supply for irrigation and high production costs among others.
Chabikwa said summer crops were this year harvested late, a development that has delayed winter wheat preparations and this could compromise the crop’s yield.
“Summer crops were also harvested late so farmers could not prepare land on time for planting of the winter wheat. At the moment the planted crop is doing well and is at the flowering stage,” he said.
Chabikwa said the only thing to determine this year’s winter wheat projections was the hectarage under the crop.
“At the moment I am waiting for my provincial offices to submit the figures of hectares that our members have put under wheat this year. Once I get those I can be able to confirm the government’s projections,” he said.
Meanwhile, Chabikwa said the deadline for winter wheat planting had passed and farmers should concentrate on growing other crops.
“We look at May 25 as the cut-off date. I therefore, urge farmers who could not meet the deadline to go for other horticulture crops like potatoes,” he said.
Online Reporter