Manicaland wraps up wheat harvesting

WHEAT harvesting is almost complete in Manicaland, with only 100 hectares in three districts yet to be harvested.

Farmers are already finalising preparations for summer cropping.

Manicaland put 11 860ha under wheat, which was about 108 percent of its target of 10 000ha.

The outstanding 100ha are in Chipinge, Mutasa and Mutare Districts, with harvesting ongoing and expected to be completed by this weekend.

The swift harvesting in the province was enabled by timeous mobilisation and deployment of combine harvesters.

Manicaland had 17 combine harvesters, with 12 of them coming from private players and five from the AFC Leasing Company.

The machinery deployment was being coordinated by the Department of Mechanisation in the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development.

A record harvest has already been attained as commercial farmers and irrigation schemes have been recording high yields of between seven and nine tonnes per hectare.

Some small-holder farmers who planted the cereal crop in vleis attained a yield of at least two tonnes per hectare.

The bumper harvest comes as the Presidential Inputs Scheme was strategically deployed to support farmers to meet national food requirements, fill up strategic grain reserves and save foreign currency.

The scheme accounted for more than 70 percent of the planted area, with beneficiaries having received US$700 worth of inputs per each hectare for free.

Farmers got Compound D, Ammonium Nitrate, wheat seed and chemicals for up to seven hectares and this pushed the uptake of wheat farming.

Agriculture and Rural Development Agency (ARDA) also assisted irrigation schemes in the province in line with Government’s

policy to turn them into wheat greenbelts.

About 1 600ha were planted under ARDA. The Agency supported irrigation schemes in Buhera, Chipinge, Makoni, Mutare, Mutasa and Nyanga with inputs.

Nyanga had 1 500ha, the largest planted area under ARDA.Provincial Mechanisation Engineer, Engineer Nhlanhla Magama said wheat harvesting is almost done to allow farmers time to prepare for the summer crop.

“Wheat harvesting is almost done. We are left with about 100ha which we are mopping up in three districts. The bulk of the wheat was in Makoni, Mutasa and Nyanga Districts where harvesting is almost complete,” said Engineer Magama.

He said the timing of wheat harvesting is highly dependent on the weather, adding that exposure to repeated precipitation and drying decreases the quality of the cereal and its test weight.

Moisture reduces the cereal’s baking quality. It also leads to problems with mycotoxins which are toxic compounds produced when grain molds.

“The bulk of the crop which is about 4 839ha was in Makoni and all that wheat has been harvested. Nyanga had 2 202ha, mostly in irrigation schemes and we are done there, same as Chimanimani and Buhera which had 987ha and 109ha, respectively.

“Chipinge put 1 033ha under wheat, of which 40ha are yet to be harvested. Mutare had 1 137ha, with 30ha remaining outstanding. Mutasa planted 2 008ha, of which about 30ha is yet to be harvested at Franklin Farm,” Engineer Magama said.

Deputy Director for Agricultural Advisory and Rural Development Services (Manicaland), Mr Nomatter Manunure said harvesting was done without any incidents.In the previous seasons, part of the cereal crop was lost to either veld fires or precipitation.

Wheat maturity coincides with the fire season which stretches from July 31 to October 31.