Winter wheat ready for harvesting

Precious Manomano Herald Reporter

PREPARATIONS for the harvesting of the 2022 winter wheat crop are in place with farmers working hard to ensure maximum yields and the Government mobilising 300 combine harvesters to ensure farmers harvest in time.

More than 85 000 hectares were put under wheat during the 2022 winter season compared to 66 000 hectares last year and this is expected to produce self-sufficiency with a small surplus for the first time since wheat farming started in Zimbabwe in 1966.

Zimbabwe National Farmers Union vice president Mr Edward Dune confirmed that all systems are in place for harvesting.

“The issue of combine harvesters is sorted out, everything is in place. Things are well organised this time. We may encounter challenges but so far all is in place.

“This season the wheat was planted at different times and this will reduce pressure on combine harvesters,” he said. The early planted crop is now ready for harvest.

Mr Dune also warned wheat farmers to stick to the calendar to avoid compromising the quality of their crop. “We should stick to dates when dealing with wheat. Timeframe is crucial in wheat farming because failure to do so may compromise the crop. The affected crop may not be accepted for human consumption and that is the biggest loss,” he said.

Recently, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Permanent secretary Dr John Basera said Zimbabwe is likely to be self-sufficient in wheat, with zero imports, and even have a small carry-over stock for next year.

The estimated projected harvest is around 380 000 tonnes against a national annual requirement of about 360 000 tonnes. This gives the country a surplus of about 20 000 tonnes.

The Second Republic has been working hard to push agricultural output and farm incomes by going for self-sufficiency of most food products, since this gives the farmers guaranteed markets and ensures Zimbabwe can cope with any geo-political or global supply challenges.

In Zimbabwe, wheat is the second most important cereal crop after maize.

Last season, farmers produced wheat that is enough to cover nine months’ supply to meet domestic demand with GMB receiving 156 144 tonnes from the farmers it had under contract.