Freedom Mupanedemo Midlands Bureau
Farmers in Midlands on clay and sandy soils should start dry planting ahead of the rainy season, as the province seeks to surpass this year’s over 60 000 tonnes of maize it delivered to the Grain Marketing Board (GMB), an official has said.
Midlands Provincial Crop and Livestock Officer Mrs Madeline Magwenzi said her office dispatched teams to every district to work with farmers, while giving them some expertise so that they improved their yields under the second phase for the Command Agriculture.
She said the province was expecting to do better in next year’s tonnage deliveries to the GMB.
“As a province, we did very well this year in terms of the tonnage delivered to the GMB, but we want to do more under the 2017-18 farming season,” said Mrs Magwenzi.
She said teams on the ground were conducting training sessions, while educating farmers on the seed varieties and the kind of pests that could affect their yields.
“Last year, farmers were caught unaware by the fall army worm which affected almost the whole SADC region,” said Mrs Magwenzi. “So, we are sending teams to educate farmers on all these pests and on what they should do to improve their yields.
“We urge the farmers to attend these trainings, they are very important.”
Mrs Magwenzi said Kwekwe District came up tops under the 2016-2017 farming season in terms of tonnage per hectare, followed by Gweru.
“According to the statistics we have, Kwekwe District was the highest in terms of the tonnage that was delivered to the GMB,” she said. “Kwekwe also came up tops in terms of tonnage per hectare.
“A farmer would harvest up to 12 tonnes per hectare, while farmers in Gweru District would harvest an average of six tonnes per hectare.
“Gokwe and Mberengwa recorded the least, with farmers harvesting an average of one tonne per hectare.”