Online Reporter
Theseus Shambare
Herald Reporter
FARMERS have harvested wheat on 758 hectares as the country starts reaping this year’s winter crop.
Zimbabwe is targeting to harvest over 600 000 tonnes of wheat from the record 122 566 hectares planted, a milestone expected to strengthen national food security and cut reliance on imports.
Annually, the country requires about 360 000 tonnes of wheat for domestic consumption, meaning this year’s target could result in a surplus.
Giving updates on the harvesting process, Agriculture and Rural Development Advisory Services (ARDAS) acting chief director, Mr Leonard Munamati, said farmers were on course to meet the target.
“We are now in the period of harvesting wheat. After the initial target of 122 566 hectares of wheat that was planted, harvesting has now commenced. And to date, 758 hectares of wheat have been harvested,” he said.
Mr Munamati said early results were encouraging, with an average yield of 6.1 metric tonnes per hectare.
“This is quite exciting because we are on course to achieve our minimum target of 600 000 metric tonnes as the national production,” he said.
“We continue to encourage our farmers to make sure that they look for the combine harvesters so that they can harvest on time,” said Mr Munamati.
He also warned of the risk of veld fires, urging farmers to remain alert and report incidents promptly to avoid losses.
