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Peter Matika, [email protected] 

THE Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (Arda)-Antelope Estate in Matobo District, Matabeleland South has put 545 hectares under winter wheat and anticipates a bumper harvest.

In line with the rural industrialisation agenda, Arda Antelope intends to establish a flour milling plant for the locally produced wheat. 

Through rural industrialisation, the Government hopes to stem rural to urban migration, which saps growth from the countryside, transferring it to towns and cities.

Rural industrialisation, which hinges on the Second Republic’s devolution policy, involves nurturing agro-processing start-ups in rural areas through financial and technological support via venture capital funding and Government agencies.

The establishment of a flour milling plant by Arda Antelope is set to necessitate the upgrading of the road infrastructure and attract more service providers to invest at the fast-growing Maphisa Business Centre.

The revival of the agriculture sector as the backbone of the country’s economy is at the heart of the Second Republic. 

Arda Antelope has a mandate to ensure maximum land utilisation towards realisation of the Government’s upper middle-income economy goal by 2030. 

Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) play a key role in this matrix as they add impetus in fast-tracking attainment of set economic targets. 

Arda, in partnership with players in the private sector, has enhanced its production capacity and improved output both under irrigation schemes.

One of the flagship projects is the partnership between Arda and Trek Petroleum at Antelope Estate and Ingwizi Estate. Arda Antelope Estate has since 2015 been in the lucrative partnership with Trek Petroleum. Ingwizi Estate, which was on the verge of collapse, has a partnership with the same investorSince then, they have registered improved output, creating more job opportunities for local communities.

Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Deputy Minister Davis Marapira, who is responsible for Agricultural Colleges, Water Resources, and Irrigation Development, Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene yesterday toured Arda Antelope Estate, which is benefitting from the Presidential Scheme.

He stressed the need for farmers to adopt modernised farming methods to record high yields.

“This wheat was planted at the right time and given the right inputs such as good seed, fertilizer, pesticides and water, it will result in a good yield. 

“We are looking at an average of 7 tonnes per hectare from 545 hectares of wheat planted,” Deputy Minister Marapira said.

 “The national average is looking at 5 tonnes per hectare and we are sitting on above average. This is what we expect for us to achieve wheat exports. The focus of the President is for the country to start exporting wheat next year, and this will be achieved through good agronomic practices.”

Deputy Minister Marapira said the farm had adopted high standards of modernised farming methods, which are used in developed countries. 

“Zimbabwe has the capability of being like any other wheat producing country in the world. 

“Once we export wheat we generate forex, our gross domestic product will stabilise and the employment capacity and raw materials for industries will also increase,” he said.

“Above all, the country’s food security which we want as a nation will be met. For any economy to grow the country has to grow its own food and have excess for exports.” 

Deputy Minister Marapira said the ministry was given a target of US$8 billion as its contribution to the gross domestic product which it has surpassed.

“We want a target of US$20 billion coming from agriculture alone in the next 40 years. That is the agriculture we want as an economy,” he said.

Arda Antelope Estate manager Mr Alec Chinyai also explained the techniques they adopted in planting the crop, saying that  they have also engaged and assisted outgrowers from the scheme.

“We have engaged and are assisting out-growers, who are benefitting from the water which we pump into their plots for free. They also have electricity, and we also distribute seed and also give them free consultancy on farming in order for them to record good yields,” he said.

Mr Chinyai said since the area is in a semi-arid region, they rely mostly on pivot irrigation.

He said there were several other agro-based projects that the estate is undertaking such as the farming of high-grade potatoes, and hybrid maize farming, which all had been allocated varied hectares of land.

The farm is fast becoming a major supplier of potatoes, not only in the Matabeleland region, but in other provinces as well.

Zimbabwe has a well-established history of potato production. Apart from giving high returns per invested dollar to the farmer, the crop contributes significantly to the nation’s food security.

As such, the Government declared potatoes as one of the strategic crops to enhance food security at household and national levels.