Farmers urged to speed up winter wheat planting
By Delicious Mathuthu
The Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development (MLAFWRD) is urging Zimbabwe winter wheat farmers to speed up planting of the cereal and increase hectarage so as to hit the revised 90 000ha national target for the 2023 winter wheat season.
Almost 48 000ha have been planted so far with only two weeks remaining till the planting deadline.
In a statement, the MLAFWRD said Zimbabwe is thriving to be a net exporter of wheat in the region hence the efforts to plant wheat on all land available under irrigation.
“To date, famers have planted 47,562 hectares of winter wheat and this is greatly appreciated.
“Over and above wheat self-sufficiency, Zimbabwe is positioning herself to be a net exporter of wheat targeting the region.
“To meet this, our farmers need to accelerate the planting pace, increase the planting hectarage, and put all irrigable land under wheat production.
“This planting should happen no later than 15 June 2023,” the Ministry said.
Farmers have been urged to work closely with their Agricultural Extension Officers for maximum and quality wheat production as they provide the necessary support on technical issues relating to seeding rate, irrigation management, fertilizer application regimes and any other good agricultural practice pertaining to wheat production.
Zimbabwe recently revised its 2023 wheat production target from last year’s 375 000 metric tonnes (MT) to over 400 000MT.
Countries like Rwanda and Mozambique have already expressed interest in buying the cereal.
Zimbabwe needs 360 000MT to be self-sufficient wheat-wise, and is one of the two African countries that produce enough wheat for local consumption, together with Ethiopia.