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Midlands Bureau

THE Midlands province is targeting to put 9 000 ha under winter wheat crop up from 7 600 ha planted last season.

The Government is increasing wheat production to meet the national requirement in line with the Agriculture and Food Systems Transformation Strategy, the Agriculture Recovery Plan and the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS 1) and in pursuit of the vision of becoming an empowered and prosperous upper-middle income economy by 2030.

The country achieved a record in wheat production by harvesting 375 000 tonnes at the end of 2022.

The bumper harvest was a result of a collective effort by farmers, financial institutions, the private sector and largely the Government’s policies and strategies to attain flour and wheat self-sufficiency at all costs, amid the Russia and Ukraine war.

Wheat is mostly grown under irrigation during the winter season, which runs from May to July before the crop is harvested from October to December.

During the rainy season from October to March, farmers plant other crops, such as soya beans and maize.

In an interview, the Provincial Director in the Department of Rural Development and Advisory Services (Ardas) Mrs Medlinah Magwenzi said preparations for the 2023 winter wheat crop were underway.

“Our target this season is 9 000 ha up from the 7 600 ha we achieved last year. We intend to start planting in May and latest mid-June for a better yield and to avoid mishaps like early rains which affect the crop. Last season we lost more than 10 tonnes to early rains due to late planting,” she said.

Mrs Magwenzi said inputs are being sent to various Grain Marketing Board (GMB) depots across the province.

@pchitumba1