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FARMERS are set to reap between 2,5 and 2,8 million tonnes of maize over the next two to three months, the largest harvest in the country in 37 years.

About 360 000 tonnes of traditional grains are likely to be harvested too, also a record.

The impressive harvest this year is because of the favourable rains that were received over the growing period as well as adequate preparations led by the Government through the Pfumvudza/Intwasa and Command Agriculture programmes.

However, just as farmers were adequately prepared ahead of the growing period guaranteeing the huge output, they must be preparing adequately to be able to reap the crop most efficiently so it doesn’t go to waste.

On its part, the Government is preparing very well for this harvesting season. It has started working on the Grain Marketing Board (GMB), improving its storage capacity and repairing broken silos.

Presenting the state of preparedness for the 2020/21 harvesting period, Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement Minister Dr Anxious Masuka this week said the Government was also mobilising combine harvesters, shellers, driers and other machinery key in efficient harvesting.

The Directorate of Agricultural Engineering, Mechanisation and Soil Conservation has been re-established, he added, with a dedicated Department of Post-Harvest Technology and Storage Engineering to safeguard harvests.

Of the harvest, the GMB is expected to store a total of two million tonnes comprising up of 1, 8 million tonnes of maize and 200 000 tonnes of traditional grains.

About 200 shellers will be made available through the Land Bank Special Purpose Vehicle, Agricultural Rural Development Agency and GMB on a cost recovery basis.

By early last month, the GMB had refurbished five of its 12 silo facilities while work on the other seven is scheduled for completion by next month when the harvest starts arriving.

Although the 12 silo complexes can store only 750 000 tonnes, the GMB has, in past bumper harvests, stored bagged cereals under canvas. Capacity under this alternative storage mechanism is estimated at 2, 5 million tonnes.

Furthermore, up to 500 collection points are being set up across the country to ensure that every grower who wants to sell their crop has an opportunity to do so at an accessible place.

Only a few weeks into the growing season the Government announced preplanning prices for grains and soyabeans.

The GMB will buy maize at $32 000 per tonne while traditional grains will be bought for $38 000 per tonne. The soya bean pre-planting price is pegged at $48 000 per tonne. This means that farmers cannot be paid less than the announced prices – equivalent to US$381, US$452 and US$572 per tonne respectively.

The prices are extremely attractive and those who will harvest big this season, will make big money indeed.

The work that the Government has been doing to prepare for the anticipated enormous cereal output is thus plausible. That means the risk of food going to waste is minimised, farmers will get a viable market for their produce and national food security will be assured for more people this year to 2022, even beyond.

However, it has to be noted that Government efforts alone will not be enough to get the nation well fed. Therefore, farmers must mobilise their own resources to efficiently reap their produce, process and store it. We know that some farmers have combine harvesters, some which they secured under Government-led initiatives over the years. It has to be expected that such farmers would hire out their machinery to their colleagues so that more ground is covered at a quicker speed.

Regarding shellers and driers we urge bigger producers to invest more in this equipment or, where possible, share it, the same way they can do their combines.

As indicated, the GMB does not have adequate space to take in every grain to be produced this year. This opens room for companies or institutions that have their own silos. In the past, excess capacity in these has been leased out. With the big harvest the country is poised to realise this season, we foresee higher potential for demand for such a service.