There is a limitation to the alternative crops that farmers can grow in winter.

By Peter Gambara

IT is only a month before the winter wheat planting season starts and many farmers are wondering whether they should venture into growing wheat this winter or not.
Firstly, we do not have a comparative advantage in growing wheat compared to other countries that grow the crop.
Secondly, following the drought, the water availability situation is likely to be precarious for most farmers.
The concept of comparative advantage relates to a country specialising in producing and exporting those goods and services which it can produce more efficiently or at lower opportunity cost than other goods and services, which it should import.
The theory of comparative advantage was first published by economist David Ricardo in 1817 in his book “On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation.”
Comparative advantage can be looked at from aspects of different factors of production ie capital, labour, power, technologyand so on.
In our case we do have a comparative disadvantage when one looks at wheat production from all these angles. Unlike us who have to add artificial water to the crop in winter, there are other countries in the northern hemisphere, where wheat is grown under rainfed conditions. They are therefore able to produce their wheat cheaper than us as they do not have to use electricity to pump water onto the crop like we do.
We do not have a comparative advantage in the use of capital to produce wheat either. Zimbabwe has a certain country risk that makes our finances more expensive than other countries. Our interest rates are about five to seven percent higher than would be the case if it were not for that country risk. When it comes to the use of technology, we are obviously centuries behind. Whereas most farmers in modern countries would use technologies like centre pivot, most Zimbabwean farmers still use movable laterals that have to be moved after irrigating on the same position for a number of hours.
Our electricity costs cannot be compared to other countries, even regionally. We do not have the capacity to produce enough electricity for our consumption and therefore we have to supplement our supplies by importing from neighbouring countries like Zambia, South Africa, Mozambique and Democratic Republic of Congo. If we have to import some of our electricity, we have to price it such that we cover the costs of importing it. Worse still, come winter the electricity availability becomes unreliable. Load shedding becomes more severe as demand escalates and it becomes difficult for farmers to plan their irrigation cycles. Maybe we are better off reserving the little electricity we have in winter for our struggling industries and household use and simply import the wheat.
The local marketing arrangements also now present its own challenges since government abandoned setting the floor price recently, leaving market forces to prevail. It costs about US$1 200 to produce a hectare of wheat and the average yield in Zimbabwe is about 3 tonnes per hectare. At that cost the minimum producer price that farmers would want to break even is US$400 (1 200/3 tonnes). However local grain millers and bakers are unlikely to offer such a high producer price and would prefer to import wheat instead at prices of US$320-US$350 per tonne. Over the years local farmers have therefore preferred to deliver their wheat to GMB as it normally offers a higher producer price. However in most cases, government takes time to provide the necessary funding to GMB to pay the farmers thereby compromising the farmers’ viability and ability to pay for services rendered.
The area planted to wheat has decreased to insignificant levels over the years. From a peak of 70 585 hectares that were planted in 2004 to yield 247 048 metric tonnes, production decreased to just about 4 000 hectares that were planted last year yielding just over 10 000 tonnes. The country requires 400 000 metric tonnes per year. Our current production is only 1/40th of the amount we need, so why not just import the whole amount anyway. Besides it has always been necessary to import the grissling wheat to compliment the local product.
Zimbabwe has a comparative advantage in crops like tobacco when we consider factors of production like land and labour. However the production of tobacco is such that farmers need water to raise seedlings in winter.
Farmers are better off using the little water resources at their disposal to plan for early planting of tobacco through either water planting or supplementary irrigation. Such tobacco has the potential to earn higher yields than rainfed tobacco. Such tobacco is also of better quality as it has a longer growing period. We are therefore better of committing scarce water resources to the raising of tobacco seedlings and early planting of tobacco so that we maintain our comparative advantage on tobacco production.
After a drought season, the availability of water on most farms remains precarious. Most dams are not 100 percent full and whilst most rivers have reduced flow of water due to the drought. It is even more difficult for farmers who use boreholes, as they are not sure of the amount of water in their water table.
The irrigation of winter wheat can take up to five months (May to September) and such a venture requires the availability of adequate water. It would be disastrous if farmers were to run out of water at the later stages of irrigating the wheat as the wheat is likely to be at critical stages of grain filling at those later stages.
Without adequate water, the wheat will fail to fill the grain and it will end up as a big disaster for the farmer, as they will not be able to recoup the resources they will have committed up to that stage e.g. seed, fertilisers, chemicals, electricity and labour.
Those who feel strongly about growing water should take the extra care to ensure that they have enough water to last the five months they need to irrigate.
While farmers can easily determine if the dam level is higher or lower than in a normal year, it requires some professionals when it relates to determining the level of underground water available. It might be necessary in some situations to reduce the area to be planted to the wheat, so that it correlates to the available water or shifting to other crops that might require less water or shorter time to ripen.
There is a limitation to the alternative crops that farmers can grow in winter.
Onions is one crop that farmers can grow in winter. Onion seedlings will take six weeks to reach planting stage and therefore farmers should plan accordingly. The crop will also take about five to six months to reach maturity, but the total amount applied could be lower than in wheat production. Most of the onions in our supermarkets are actually imported as very few local farmers are able to dry the onions for storage and disposal at the most opportune time.
Most local farmers normally sell the onions green at markets like Mbare Musika while those who grow a late crop would normally opt to dry them and try to sell them the following January or February when the prices will have firmed a bit.
Cabbages are another winter crop that farmers can grow. Cabbages take just 90 days to reach maturity and therefore likely to use less water than wheat, however, cabbages tend to flood the market easily and it’s also too bulky to transport to market.
Farmers are therefore urged to investigate the market first and plan their planting accordingly before venturing into cabbages.
Mange tout and sugar snap peas are normally grown for the export market and take 60 to 90 days to reach maturity.
Most farmers who have ventured into these crops have regretted doing so after the middlemen who take the produce from farmers, and bulk it before exporting, have failed to pay them. Most middleman will claim that the consignment was rejected or fetched poor prices in Europe and are therefore not in a position to pay the local farmers. Since these crops are grown for export, there are definitely some strict measures to be followed in spraying and picking the crop.
The picking is also labour intensive, so farmers should ensure that they will be able to recruit enough labour to pick the peas at harvest time otherwise they will over ripe and be rejected for export.
Green mealies are another crop that farmers grow immediately after the frost danger is over. Those who are now experts in growing the crop, establish the crop from mid-July onwards. A July planted crop should mature in about 4 months. There tends to be a preference by the touts who buy the green mealies for the yellow varieties over white maize.
However some farmers grow white maize so that they can always use the small cobs as grain for their workers after selling the big cobs to the touts (makoronyera).
Maize streak virus can cause stunted growth in a crop planted in July as most grasses and crops will be dry by then, farmers are therefore advised to treat the seed (especially the yellow varieties) with Gaucho before planting. However some white varieties are resistant to steak virus.
Potatoes are another crop that is susceptible to frost and potato farmers normally establish the crop immediately after the frost period starting in July.
Potatoes take about four months to reach maturity and some of this crop matures just before Christmas and can fetch very good prices.
However, farmers should be warned that potatoes need sprouting first before planting (preferably) and they should therefore take that into consideration when planning.
Carrots can actually be grown throughout the year by most farmers and most farmers should be able to grow the crop in winter. However the market also tends to get flooded too easily as a lot of small scale farmers from Murehwa and Domboshawa can easily grow carrots in their gardens. Therefore those farmers who want to try them should start with a small area and grow with the market.

Peter Gambara is an agricultural economist/consultant based in Harare