Online Reporter
Walter Nyamukondiwa
Mashonaland West Bureau Chief
Government and various stakeholders have started developing a plan on how to reduce harvesting and post-harvest losses which account for about 30 percent of farmers’ losses.
The losses normally result from operator’s failure to properly calibrate and use combine harvesters, resulting in some of the crop falling to the ground.
A team of engineers from Government and the private sector, as well as suppliers of combine harvesters from the country’s 10 provinces are in Chinhoyi to develop at least 11 modules for farmers to help reduce losses along the production value-chain.
Chief Director Agricultural Engineering, Mechanisation and Farm Infrastructure Development Engineer Edwin Zimunya said studies have shown that nearly half of losses occur during harvesting.
“Scientific studies have shown that 30 percent of losses in Zimbabwe take place during harvesting and we have to plug that leakage.
“We are collaborating to come up with a Standardised Operations and Optimisation Model for Zimbabwe, which will be underpinned by the Standards Association of Zimbabwe (SAZ) and implemented by the Institute of Engineering,” said Engineer Zimunya.
“Yields determine the revenue that a farmer gets,” he said. “Any loss is going to affect the farmer’s bottom line.
Engineer Zimunga said Government is also promoting the usage of appropriate technologies among small-holder farmers under a $6 million Pfumvudza facility.
The initiative is being undertaken under the Agricultural Mechanisation Alliance
