Minister urges early winter wheat preps

without delay, Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Minister Joseph Made has said.
Minister Made yesterday warned that farmers had already fallen behind in terms of preparation.
He said they needed to move with speed to get inputs from the Grain Marketing Board and other sources.
“The GMB should also move inputs to all depots in the wheat growing areas and any farmer who is not attended satisfactorily should approach the Permanent Secretary in my ministry.
“The inputs will be given on first-come, first-serve basis so those who delay will have no one to blame if they fail to get the subsidised inputs,” said Minister Made.
Meanwhile, Mashonaland Central Province has already registered more than 400 farmers for this season amid indications that slightly above 14 000 hectares could be put under wheat.
Mashonaland Central Provincial Agricultural Extension Officer, Mr Stancilae Tapererwa, recently said the registration of farmers started as early as February in the province whose traditional hectarage has always been 18 000 ha per year.
“As Agritex, we are organising stakeholder wheat workshops with key players such as seed houses, Zesa, chemical suppliers, fertiliser companies, Zinwa and the Department of Irrigation to come up with recommendations and a roadmap to improve wheat yields.
“We have also provided Zesa with a list of prospective wheat farmers so that they give preference to wheat growing clusters in their distribution of power,” he said.
Mr Tapererwa said they had held two such meetings in Bindura and one in Concession areas while other districts would follow soon.
He also commended the Government for availing US$11 million for the rehabilitation of irrigation equipment and a further US$5,2 million for the procurement of carryover inputs from last season.
Inputs will be available in all of the province’s 12 depots at subsidised prices of US$0,50 per kg for seed while fertiliser is going for US$15 – both Ammonium Nitrate and Compound D.
“A2 farmers are limited to 40 ha worth of inputs at the rate of 500kg per hectare of Compound D and 400kg of AN per hectare while A1 farmers can buy a hectare worth of inputs with communal and old resettlement farmers also getting 0,25ha worth of inputs.
“Communal farmers in irrigation schemes and those on wetlands are allowed 5kg of seed under the scheme,” Mr Tapererwa added.
He, however, lamented the continued yearly decrease in wheat hectarage. In 2008 there were 12 000ha under wheat, in 2009 the hectarage fell to 9 000ha while in 2010 it fell to 2 300ha for the entire province.
Mr Tapererwa said that the decrease in hectarage was largely attributed to the absence of clearly defined input schemes at a time when the economy was going through a lot of turbulence.
The other key problem was erratic electricity supplies that left many farmers guessing on the wisdom of growing a crop that would just wilt and die from moisture stress after prolonged power cuts made irrigation almost impossible.
Mr Tapererwa also advised farmers to start planting as early as mid-April to end of May as the province had favourable conditions for that.
“In this province you can plant wheat up to as late as June and still get good yields,” he said.