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Patrick Chitumba, Midlands Bureau Chief
THE country is poised to meet its wheat requirements for the first time in many years after surpassing the winter wheat hectarage target for this year. A record 80 000 hectares were put under winter wheat this season up from 66 436 hectares last year and the Government is confident of satisfying national wheat requirements for a year.

The country is targeting self-sufficiency in wheat production and is expected to produce more than 383 000 metric tonnes, which will be sufficient to meet the country’s needs. The Russia/Ukraine conflict has disrupted exports as the two countries supply a third of the world’s wheat.

As the Government continues to push for food security in the country, buy-in from farmers is key with those venturing into large scale wheat production confident that Zimbabwe will once again be the bread basket of Africa. Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Minister Dr Anxious Masuka, who was leading a Government delegation to assess the winter wheat crop in Kwekwe District on Friday, said Government is upbeat that the country will meet its national requirements for the first time in many years.

Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement, Dr Anxious Masuka

Dr Masuka toured DCK Farm located in Sebakwe, Kwekwe where prominent farmer Mr Douglas Kwande has put 750 hectares under wheat. DCK Farm, which is on the outskirts of the gold mining town has embraced the call by the Government to play a part in taking farming as a business. The flourishing crop is on 15 fields under 18 centre pivots. Dr Masuka said history was in the making in terms of winter wheat production in the country.

“It is indeed history in the making. We have since put the biggest hectarage ever witnessed in this country. We have put in place a number of interventions and the level of response by farmers is exceptional,” said the Minister.

He said the Midlands Province is doing very well in terms of meeting its heactarage target.

“We are very happy with the Midlands province. Next season we are increasing their target to 10 000 hectares after such a successful season. We are witnessing farming being carried out as a business and this is the thrust of the Second Republic,” he said.

Midlands Province set a target of 6 200 hectares for winter wheat this season, but it surpassed the target by over 1 000 hectares. Mr Kwande underscored the importance of investing in value addition mechanisms to derive maximum benefits from farm produce.

“Farming is a serious business which requires a lot of attention. What I have done is to employ an industrial engineer as my manager. I am running a big business and as such it needs people who are professional. After I harvest this wheat I sell it to GMB.. Value addition is the only way to go if farmers are to enjoy the fruits of their work,” he said.

Mr Kwande said last ywar they had 300 hectares under winter wheat.
“We then increased to 450 hectares. Agriculture plays a pivotal role in our economy and ensures food security in our nation. We are expecting to get over 4 500 tonnnes of wheat from our harvests,” he said.

President Mnangagwa

There is also 80 hectares under potato crop at the farm. There are more than 2 000 cattle and they are renting five other farms to accommodate the cattle.

Speaking in Chimanimani recently, President Mnangagwa highlighted the good performance in winter wheat production, noting that the country has enough to last 13 months.