Mash East surpasses winter wheat target

Ripe ears of wheat lit by the morning sunlight.

Victor Maphosa

Mashonaland East Bureau

MASHONALAND East Province has surpassed its 2026 winter wheat planting target, putting in more than 25 000 hectares and positioning itself as a key contributor to Zimbabwe’s national wheat output.

The province had set a target of 25 000 hectares, but as of Monday this week, about 25 123 hectares had already been planted.

Mashonaland East provincial deputy director in the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Water Resources, Mr Ranganayi Makona, said the planted area is expected to increase further despite the Government’s official cut-off period.

“As Mashonaland East Province, we have 25 123 hectares planted under wheat. We have surpassed our target of 25 000 hectares by 123 hectares,” said Mr Makona.

“We are still anticipating an increase in the area under wheat by more than 200 hectares.”

He noted that Mashonaland East is currently among the top wheat-producing provinces, ranking alongside Mashonaland Central and behind Mashonaland West.

Nationally, Zimbabwe is targeting about 125 000 hectares under wheat this season, with an expected output of approximately 662 500 tonnes.