Zim stakes claim as regional breadbasket

SETTING new production records in agriculture has become the new normal for Zimbabwe.

This year, farmers have harvested more than 467 333 tonnes of wheat, which is the highest-ever haul since commercial production of the crop began in the 1960s.

This comes barely a year after Zimbabwe had set a new record of 375 000 tonnes.

The country’s annual demand currently stands at 360 000 tonnes.

After baby steps in the aftermath of the Land Reform Programme, the new crop of indigenous farmers is helping Zimbabwe reclaim its status as the breadbasket of the region.

Experts say a country should meet its national consumption needs and also provide exports of the same food commodity to be considered a “foodbasket”.

From 1989 to 1999, when the country attained its breadbasket status, Zimbabwe’s wheat output averaged 250 000 tonnes, with a high of 325 000 tonnes in 1990.

Currently, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia are the only African countries considered wheat self-sufficient.

Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Minister Dr Anxious Masuka recently told The Sunday Mail that “Zimbabwe has become the only SADC (Southern African Development Community) country to achieve wheat self-sufficiency”.

“SADC has provided financial and logistical support to Zimbabwe during periods of drought through funding for water infrastructure development and support for irrigation schemes to mitigate the impact of droughts on agricultural production,” he said.

Initially, wheat production was projected to reach 408 000 tonnes.

However, the figure was later revised upwards to 420 000 tonnes, before being subsequently reviewed to 440 000 tonnes.

Even the revised production figure has now been surpassed.

A record 90 192 hectares were put under the cash crop during the winter cropping season.

With 85 percent of growers being smallholder farmers who benefited from the Land Reform Programme, the Second Republic made deliberate interventions to capacitate and boost their production.

Inputs were timeously distributed, while producer prices were announced ahead of time.

Agricultural extension workers were also capacitated and a new climate-proofed conservation farming method — Pfumvudza/Intwasa — was encouraged and actively pursued.

Irrigation schemes, most of which were lying idle for years, are being revived.

The Government, in line with President Mnangagwa’s vision, plans to put 350 000 hectares (ha) of land under irrigation by 2025.

Joint ventures

Joint ventures, through which landholders can rope in partners to work the land, have been sanctioned under the Second Republic.

Glendale farmer Mrs Junior Makiiwa-Chisoko, who is under the Government-monitored joint venture framework, is a shining example of the runaway success of the programme.

“Wheat farming was a preserve of commercial farmers only. Personally, I was not even confident that we can be as successful as we have become now. We are contributing to new records that were never witnessed before. I feel this year is my best winter season ever. I started with 20ha a couple of years ago but I currently have 35ha,” she said.

Uninterrupted electricity

Before the winter season, Government ring-fenced 120 megawatts of electricity to ensure uninterrupted irrigation.

Farmers also managed to adhere to good agronomic practices, which were enhanced by the provision of extension services. According to a recent agriculture advisory report dated November 19 — complied by the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development — uninterrupted irrigation enabled farmers to achieve better yields per unit area, with average harvest per hectare rising to between 5,1 tonnes and 5,3 tonnes from about 4 tonnes per ha in previous years.

Liberalised market

Government set a pre-planting producer price of US$520 per tonne.

Part of it will be paid in foreign currency, while the other will be paid in Zimbabwe dollars at the prevailing interbank rate.

Government also liberalised marketing of the cereal, with all contractors, which include the Food Crops Contractors Association and CBZ, allowed to buy back contracted crops.

Self-financed farmers are also selling their produce in the open market or to the Grain Marketing Board.

Financiers such as AFC Land Bank and CBZ were actively involved in giving farmers loans, while other private sector players were involved in raising money for the entire winter cropping season.

Guided by the Agriculture and Food Systems Transformation Strategy (2020-2025), the agriculture sector has already surpassed the target of becoming a US$8,2 billion industry by 2025.

There is a possibility that Zimbabwe will export its surplus wheat.

With rising agricultural production among smallholder farmers, increased household incomes are expected to rise to an average of US$5 000 per year.

Mr Lloyd Chitate, a wheat farmer from Glendale, Mashonaland Central

Farmers have this year harvested more than 467 333 tonnes of wheat, which is the highest-ever haul since commercial production of the crop began in the 1960s. Traditionally, Mash West provides the highest wheat output among all the country’s provinces.

province, said he is “now living in dreamland”.

“Honestly speaking, I was a parttime farmer, who was only concerned with summer cropping, but since 2020, when I started wheat farming, a lot has changed in my life. Before wheat farming, I could not fully utilise my whole six-hectare plot.

“I had no accommodation of my own and I was relying on my salary

from my previous employer,” said Mr Chitate.

When Government formed the AFC Land Bank, he applied for a loan, which he used to start producing the cereal.

“Since then, wheat farming has transformed my life for the better. I can now provide for my family needs and have built a farm house of my own,” he said.

Mr Chitate is using land he inherited from his father, who acquired it under the Land Reform Programme.

The 34-year-old said most youngsters around his farm are now looking up to him as an example of success from wheat farming.

“I can now afford the lifestyle I used to fantasise about, which I know my father never had before the Land Reform Programme,” he added.

Zimbabwe Farmers Union secretary-general Mr Paul Zakariya said smallholder farmers, youth and women specifically, have been integral to the resurgence in agriculture.

“We are happy that our farmers have now mastered the art of agriculture. With good agronomic practices now part of their DNA, we are witnessing great strides that have never been realised in the past,” he said.

“Having youths taking agriculture as full-time employment is key for the much-needed agricultural transformation and food security, especially in the high-value crops like wheat.”

When the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out, the fallout was felt around the world, particularly in Africa, as prices of basic commodities skyrocketed. The two countries, which are considered the breadbasket of the world, accounted for 25 percent of the world’s wheat exports.

Zimbabwe, however, managed to insulate itself from the shocks and might even go a step further to export its produce to other countries.