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Nqobile Bhebhe, Senior Business Reporter

A GOVERNMENT-private sector farming lead competition 11-tonne plus club maize competition aimed at recognising efforts put by farmers to boost the national food security and restore the country’s status as the breadbasket of Southern Africa has been launched today.

The competition is open to all Zimbabwean farmers who managed to plant more than 11 hectares in this current season and are achieving high yields of 11 tonnes and above.

Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Permanent secretary, Dr John Basera, said the competition is introduced together with private sector players to create excitement and a competitive spirit in the maize production sub-space.

“The 11-tonne plus club is also a source and platform for social, and technical capital as this encourages cross-pollination of ideas, practices, and techniques. The net effect and ultimate goal of this effort is one way: increasing both production and productivity and ultimately achieving national food security.”

He added that the private sector initiative and Government is testament of ‘Partnership for Growth’ with private sector players comprising seed companies, fertilizer companies, farm equipment companies, farm solutions companies, banks and other financial services institutions.

The winners will walk away with prizes ranging from tractors, planter’s, fertiliser spreaders and agricultural input. The 11-tonne plus club awards ceremony are earmarked for  August and field days at winners farms will be conducted to ignite exchanges of ideas and productivity-enhancing techniques, amongst farmers.

Dr  Basera said when farmers compete, yields compete upwards and that is the hallmark of Agricultural Transformation.

He noted that the agricultural sector is growing in leaps and bounds as evidenced by the record wheat harvest of 375,000 tonnes in the 2022 winter wheat season.

“Maize productivity levels surged over 200 percent from 0.5 tonne per hectare to 1.4 tonne per hectare after the religious implementation of the key tenets as enshrined in the Agric Recovery and Growth Plan.

“It is along the same trajectory that we want to stimulate the growth of the Maize subspace by bringing competition which recognizes the efforts of our farmers to further enhance our food security by improving productivity per unit area and ultimately the production of maize,” he noted.

Dr Basera noted that in the current season, the area planted to maize increased by three percent from 1 903 688aha to 1 962 575 ha, given the good rainfall season we have experienced thus far, a bumper maize harvested will soon be a reality.

“Hectarage under crops increased eight percent year on year from 3.4m Ha in 2021 to 3.7m hectare in 2022/23 season. Similarly, the area under traditional grains surged 30 percent from 1m Ha in 2021 to 1.3m Ha in 2022.

“A similar trend subsist in the Horticulture sub-sector where a 4.6 percent year on year growth was recorded from 113 000ha in 2022 to 119 000ha in 2022.”