By Tabitha Mutenga, Features and Supplements Editor
COMMAND winter wheat production is targeting a yield of at least five tonnes per hectare during the winter wheat production season.
The Command Agriculture scheme, introduced at the beginning of the 2016/2017 agricultural season, recorded phenomenal success in maize production with the country expecting a total yield of 2,7 million tonnes.
Most dams are now full and spilling and ready for irrigating the winter wheat crop which is targeting 40 000 hectares and an output of 200 000 tonnes.
According to the Zimbabwe Water Authority (ZINWA), as of February 20, 2017 the major dams held enough water to irrigate at least 147 524 hectares of land.
Despite the availability of water and inputs, farmers have previously faced a number of challenges with electricity and fertiliser.
Farmers have also complained about the high cost of irrigating the crop.
ZINWA has, however, reduced water charges to make life easier for farmers, with A2 farmers paying US$5 per megalitre, A1 farmers US$3 and communal farmers US$2 per megalitre.
“Farmers are not really complaining about the current water charges but the accumulative bills. The outstanding bills are making it impossible for farmers to irrigate,” Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union president, Wonder Chabikwa, said.
To irrigate a hectare of wheat, about five to six megalitres per hectare are required.
ZINWA is owed over US$150 million by various clients, farmers, government departments, parastatals, local authorities, domestic users, industry and mines.
“ZINWA therefore advises all those clients whose accounts are not paid up to make sure that they pay up or enter into acceptable payment plans with their respective ZINWA catchments.
“All those clients who have queries regarding their bills are advised to visit their respective ZINWA catchment offices for assistance,” ZINWA said.
ZINWA also appealed to water users to use the resource sparingly and efficiently to avoid huge and unsustainable water bills.
“The major challenge for farmers is electricity and fertiliser cost. These two things can push the cost of producing a hectare of wheat to over US$2 600 per hectare,” Chabikwa said.
Depending on who is producing the crop, the rising production costs have always threatened the viability of the crop.
For small scale farmers, costs are estimated at US$1 400 per hectare and for commercial producers they can go up to US$2 600 per hectare.
In terms of electricity, year after year, the availability and cost of power for the winter wheat programme has always been a contentious issue, with farmers complaining about the exorbitant cost of energy.
“Before 2009, there was a 55 percent subsidy on electricity but it was scrapped off when the country dollarised in 2009. Electricity costs worsen the burden of production on the farmer,” Chabikwa said.
Some farmers are still paying for electricity using the post-paid system while others are now using the pre-paid system.
Fertiliser costs and availability have always been prohibitive with farmers having to fork out at least US$600 per tonne for Ammonium Nitrate (AN); US$500 per tonne for compound D fertiliser and US$120 per tonne for lime.
To produce a hectare, farmers need 400 kilogrammes of compound D, 350 kilogrammes AN and 1 000 kilogrammes of lime.
Other challenges faced by farmers include the reluctance by financial institutions to fund production hence the need for Command Agriculture to push production levels from 60 000 tonnes to 200 000 tonnes per annum.
Wheat takes 140 days to reach maturity and the deadline for wheat planting in Zimbabwe is usually May 15 although it can be extended to May 31 under advice from agriculture extension officers and the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development.
Although some farmers have previously planted their crop in the second week of June, it should be noted that the crop risks being affected by early rains in October or November.
The current producer price for wheat is US$500 per tonne.
The country’s peak wheat production occurred during the 1990s.
In 1990, 1999 and 2001, annual wheat production reached 325 000, 342 000 tonnes and 325 000 tonnes respectively.
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