Province contributes 400 00t of maize to national reserves

Mashonaland West Province has contributed more than 400 000 tonnes of maize to the national grain reserves, while preparations have begun to meet the 130 000-hectare target under Command Agriculture programme.

By last week, 112 189 tonnes of maize had been delivered to GMB depots in the province under Command Agriculture, while 274 673 tonnes was delivered through self-financing and other arrangements.

This comes as about 90 percent of the total area planted in the province has been harvested, while all the soya beans has been removed from the field.

Provincial Agritex officer Mrs Edna Shambare said preparations for the 2018/ 2019 season started early this year, which should have a positive impact on production.

“In preparation for the 2018/ 2019 season, the province has started early contracting of farmers for Command maize,” she said.

“The province is targeting 130 000ha of maize under command and 35 000ha under command soya. To date, a total of 31 900ha has been contracted for maize.”

The province had 78 356ha of maize contracted under Command Agriculture last season.

Mrs Shambare said priority was being given to those with irrigation capacity so that they plant early.

“The development of irrigation infrastructure, that is installation of the latest irrigation technology (centre pivots) in the province will yield positive results in increasing maize and soya yields, particularly in view of climatic changes that are occurring,” she said.

Mrs Shambare called for the revamping of machinery on farms to improve the average yield, which was around 1,5 tonnes per hectare.

The average yield for farmers contracted under Command Agriculture was around 3,5 tonnes per hectare, with exogenous factors such as erratic rainfall patterns and late distribution of inputs being cited.

Farmers were also affected by yield-reducing pests such the fall armyworm.

The province has seen a reduction in the area under winter wheat this season owing to the ripple effects of late harvesting caused by a critical shortage of harvesting equipment and drying facilities.

At least 10 000ha have been put under wheat this season from about 16 000ha last season, with 7 000ha being supported through Command Agriculture.

Vice President Constantino Chiwenga recently called on the province to treble wheat production so that it helps in reducing the country’s wheat import bill significantly.

“The delayed start of the summer season resulted in late planting of the summer crops and harvesting extended into the ideal planting window for wheat,” said Mrs Shambare.

“This was coupled by the fact that there is a critical shortage of harvesting equipment (combine harvesters) in the province and, therefore, the harvesting process was further delayed.”