Strategy to increase wheat harvest pays dividends

Edgar Vhera-Agriculture Specialist Writer

THE Government’s decision to transform challenges facing wheat farmers into enablers proved to be the tonic that the country needed to achieve 100 percent of the targeted hectarage and ensure self-sufficiency of the cereal.

The Government set a national wheat production target of 120 000 hectares for 2024 and a production output of 600 000 tonnes at the wheat  food security conference hosted by Zimpapers and partners in Harare before the start of the season.

In response, farmers planted 119 594 hectares and harvested 563 961 tonnes, representing 100 percent and 94 percent of the target, respectively.

Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development permanent secretary, Professor Obert Jiri stated that the Government had noted the challenges encountered by farmers in previous seasons and turned these into enablers to increase production.

Farmers had been complaining about electricity cuts, water shortages, inadequate inputs, finance and payment delays, among other issues.

“A total of 100 megawatts (MW) of electricity was been ring-fenced for winter wheat to ensure there was no disruption in irrigation scheduling. Irrigation water capable of servicing 140 000 hectares was available, with the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) implementing seasonal, rather than monthly, billing,” Prof Jiri said at the conference.

ZINWA’s seasonal billing ensured adequate water for irrigation incurred no monthly interest on overdue bills.

Other enablers included sufficient seed, chemicals, and fertilizer, the availability of finance from the Government and private sectors, coordinated monitoring and evaluation, mechanisation, insurance, joint ventures, and migratory pest surveillance using seven drones.

Prof Jiri remarked: “We introduced the local currency (ZiG) fuel to fund production requirements of 115 litres per hectare, available through the Agricultural Marketing Authority (AMA) and Petrotrade. The Grain Marketing Board (GMB) also cleared all outstanding wheat farmer payments.”

Having settled the debt owed for the 2023 wheat intake, GMB continued to pay farmers for this year’s intake, having already paid US$13 million and ZiG115 million.

The Bankers Association of Zimbabwe (BAZ) financed over 50 percent of the crop, with the Government financing 20 000 hectares under the Presidential Input Programme (PIP) and offering a guarantee to ARDA for 60 000 hectares, Prof Jiri disclosed during the conference.

GMB is purchasing all wheat financed under the PIP and from self-financed growers, where self-financed farmers will sell to their best advantage.

GMB remains the buyer of last resort, and is collaborating with the Zimbabwe Mercantile Exchange (ZMX) to provide commercial warehouse receipt services to all players.

The Government announced an incentive wheat planting price of US$440 per tonne, and increased it to US$450 and US$470 per tonne for standard and premium grades, respectively, at harvest.

During the cultivation period, the Government intensified control of quelea birds, with the Department of Migratory Pests and Biosecurity Control by deploying drones and aerial technology, including calibrating planes alongside motorized backpacks on mounted vehicles, traps, and nets as part of an elaborate strategy to combat the birds.

The Institute of Agricultural Engineering Department also coordinated a harvesting platform where farmers without combine harvesters or access to such equipment were linked with those who had them under a clustering arrangement. Additionally, it rehabilitated irrigation schemes through quick fixes and the installation of transformers in some of them.

This comes as the country’s wheat hectarage rose 402 percent from 23 820 hectares in 2019 to 119 594 tonnes this year. In terms of production, it surged 463 percent, from 100 044 tonnes in 2019 to 563 961 tonnes.

The country requires 360 000 tonnes of wheat annually and has been self-sufficient since 2022 from local production. From this year’s production, 203 961 tonnes can be exported or stored as a strategic grain reserve (SGR) after the local requirement of 360 000 tonnes is met.

In Zimbabwe, wheat is the second most important strategic food security crop after maize, primarily used for human consumption in the form of bread, pasta products, breakfast cereals, cake, and many others. Wheat is an active contributor to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Over the years, demand for wheat has been rising due to population growth, urbanisation, and changes in consumer tastes and preferences, thereby outstripping supply.

Wheat imports involve spending foreign currency, hence the Government’s call for farmers to increase production as a way  of import substitution. The geopolitical developments in Eastern Europe came as a blessing in disguise, as the country became inward-looking and achieved self-sufficiency through local production.