Chronicle Editor
Midlands Bureau Chief
DIVERSIFIED media group, Zimpapers (1980) Private Limited, will host a wheat conference in Harare next Wednesday to provide a platform for engagement between the Government and key stakeholders in the agricultural sector.
Major topics for discussion cover new crop varieties, disease management and innovation, land preparation, tillage procedures and soil conditioning, food security in Zimbabwe and beyond, mechanisation, irrigation, value chains and access to markets.
Professor Obert Jiri, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development will be the guest of honour and will share the stage with key speakers such as Engineer Taurai Maurikira, CEO of Zinwa; Engineer Abel Gurupira, acting managing director of ZETDC; Dr Tafadzwa Musarara, chairman Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe; Engineer Edwin Zimunga, chief director Agricultural Engineering, Mechanisation and Farm Infrastructure Development; Mr Francis Macheka, group chief executive officer, AFC Holdings and GMB chief executive officer, Dr Edson Badarai.
In a statement, Zimpapers chief executive officer, Mr Pikirayi Deketeke, said the platform was designed to come up with innovations and strategies to further boost food security in the country.
With a focus on exploring wheat-based food security as Zimbabwe’s best foot forward, the conference theme is: “Activation of the wheat for food security strategy; how to achieve 120 000ha post-El Nino.”
“Our principal partners are the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development with whom we have established a good partnership in disseminating information on Government policies and strategies,” said Mr Deketeke.
“Our partnership has brought together key stakeholders in the agricultural value chain to share notes as the country forges ahead to ensure food security and attain a middle-income economy by the year 2030, with the agricultural sector playing a key role.”
Zimpapers has done two conferences so far in Bulawayo on livestock disease management and land distribution while the forthcoming wheat conference comes at a time when the country seeks to increase the wheat harvest.
The conference is a platform for Government and stakeholders to come together and deliberate on early planting and pre-planting processes for wheat, to ensure continued harvest successes and continued contribution of wheat farming to the country’s food security and economic success.
“In addition, wheat farming presents a rewarding opportunity for farmers seeking to contribute to food security and economic growth,” said Mr Deketeke.
He noted that successful wheat farming also ensures that the country saves the much-needed foreign currency by stopping wheat imports.
“We note that wheat farming is critical to the country’s agricultural sector as it is the second most important strategic food security crop in Zimbabwe after maize,” he said.
Furthermore, Mr Deketeke said, wheat has become a staple crop given its high demand for its by-products, bread, and others as flour made out of wheat is the main ingredient for making bread and other confectioneries consumed daily by mostly urban Zimbabweans while wheat bran is mainly used in the stock-feeds manufacturing sector.
“Zimbabwe registered its largest wheat harvest in 2022, making the country a self-sufficient agricultural powerhouse. It was a unique performance in the whole of Africa.
“The harvest in 2022 was 13 percent higher than the previous year, breaking a half-century-old record. There is, therefore, a need to ensure continued success through Government, farmers, and stakeholder engagement,” said Mr Deketeke.
Government has set an ambitious target of 120 000 hectares of wheat for this particular season, which needs all hands on deck.
“The sector can, however, achieve that, riding on the confidence that it did 80 000 in 2022 and 90 192 in 2023. The importance of this year’s winter wheat season is that it is a key food security thrust that must be accomplished at all costs,” said Mr Deketeke.
He said the success of winter wheat farming this year will avert the worst of hunger that might happen on account that winter wheat is not affected by climate change, like other crops such as maize.
The Zimpapers conference objectives include activation of the wheat for food security strategy to achieve 120 000ha post El Nino, bringing together stakeholders in the agricultural sector to share knowledge, innovations and best practices to enhance productivity and sustainability in Zimbabwe’s agricultural sector, ahead of the wheat ploughing season.
Online Reporter