Over 23 000 hectares under sunflower

Judith Phiri, Business Reporter

OVER 23 000 hectares have been put under sunflower, compared to over 20 000ha last year, as the Government has set its sight on ensuring production of the crop locally to minimise importation of sunflower products such as cooking oil. 

The hectarage planted so far is however, still  far from the set national target of 160 000ha. The prioritisation of local production of sunflower comes at the backdrop of the country spending approximately US$300 million on sunflower cooking oil imports.

The development will also ensure that the country is able to make more stock feed from sunflower meal which is one of the major protein sources in livestock feed, especially dairy cattle, chickens and even pigs and rabbits. It has a high protein, fibre and oil content.

In the weekly Ministry’s Directorate of Agricultural and Rural Development Advisory Services (ARDAS) report, acting Agritex Director, Mr Leonard Munamati said the national target under sunflower planting was 160 000ha. 

“We are targeting 25 000ha in Manicaland, 24 000ha in Masvingo, 20 000ha from Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland West, Mashonaland East each and 14 000ha in Matabeleland North and Matabeleland South each to give us a national target of 160 000ha. To date, 23 998ha have been planted under sunflower which is 15 percent of the target, while at same time last year we had planted 20  627ha,” he said. 

Manicaland was leading with 6 554ha from Pfumvudza/Intwasa programme, Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (Arda), followed by Mashonaland West with 3 331ha, Midlands with 6 136ha and Mashonaland East with 1 678ha. In other provinces, Masvingo has planted 1  713ha, Mashonaland East 1 678ha, Mashonaland Central 1 645ha, Matabeleland North 1 607ha and Matabeleland South 1 334ha. 

Speaking to communal farmers in Bulilima District, Matabeleland South Province recently, Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Minister Dr Anxious Masuka said the money being used importing cooking oil sunflower could be channelled to farmers keen to do sunflower production locally.

“The country is losing US$300 million importing cook oil sunflower which you see in the shops here. So instead of getting that money and paying South African farmers we want to pay you. Its US$300 million that we want to pay people in the rural areas if you produce sunflower and then you take it to the Grain Marketing Board (GMB). At GMB in the future, we then do the oil expression plant. We are not going to be sending the cooking oil to Harare, it’s done at a local level so that the price comes down.”

The minister said once the country was able to do more sunflower, it means there would be stock feed which was also critical in the livestock sector. He said this would cut down on livestock movement as farmers try to look for grazing land as they will now be having sunflower meal in their areas.