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Herald Reporter
FARMER unions have welcomed the Government’s initiative of mobilising combine harvesters in preparation to harvest the 2022 winter wheat from next month.
Around 300 combine harvesters have been mobilised to bring in the record crop.
Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union president Dr Shadreck Makombe said farmers are grateful for the support from Government with the harvesters helping farmers to do their work in a short space of time and so avoid rain complications.
“We appreciate the effort made by the Government to assist farmers. If distributed well, every farmer will do the work within a short period. This saves time allowing farmers to focus on other important issues. We are grateful for the support. Very soon we will be harvesting and it is important and crucial to note that the equipment is now readily available,” he said.
Zimbabwe Farmers Union secretary-general Mr Paul Zakariya said there was need for proper co-ordination in the harvesting of the crop to ensure that the yield is not affected by this season’s rains.
“The crop is now at critical stage and it requires uninterrupted power supply and adequate combine harvesters are needed to ensure an efficient harvesting process,” he said.
From what farmers planted, there is growing optimism that the Government target of wheat self-sufficiency will be met for the first time ever this year.
Speaking at the just-ended Hwedza District annual agricultural show, Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development secretary Dr John Basera said the equipment will be accessed through mechanisation hubs countrywide.
“300 combine harvesters will be ready for hiring out and they are stationed at over 20 centres, inclusive of AFC commercial bank premises dotted around the country,” said Dr Basera.
“They are as close as possible to the farmers who have grown wheat. For the large-scale farmers, we already have a vehicle under AFC Leasing Company through which we have made available 47 combine harvesters and we intend to add more.”
He said a separate programme will witness private sector owners leasing out combine harvesters to farmers at minimum cost.
More equipment was being procured from Belarus to enhance farm mechanisation.
“For the small-scale farmers, under the Belarus phase two programme, we are importing more harvesters and by the time we reach October when harvesting will be in full throttle we will have over 300 available,” said Dr Basera.
He also said measures have been put in place to ensure that harvesting is not affected by fuel shortages.
In Zimbabwe, wheat is the second most important cereal crop after maize. The annual wheat consumption for Zimbabwe is above 400 000 tonnes.
Farmers planted more than 85 000 hectares of the winter wheat crop this year. Last season, farmers produced wheat that covered nine months’ supply of local demand.
Online Reporter