Source: Adequate power, water guaranteed for winter wheat | The Sunday Mail
Theseus Shambare
DAMS have sufficient water reserves to support winter wheat production, officials have confirmed, setting the stage for yet another successful cropping season.
According to the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, an assessment of 151 major dams across the country shows that the available water is adequate to irrigate 120 000 hectares (ha) of wheat — enough to meet the season’s ambitious target of 600 000 tonnes, which would surpass last year’s record output of 563 961 tonnes.
In an interview with The Sunday Mail, Permanent Secretary in the ministry Professor Obert Jiri said: “From December until early March, we had good rains almost across the country, except, of course, parts of Mashonaland West and parts of Mashonaland Central.
“By and large, the rainfall was good in the southern part, to the extent that all our dams in Masvingo, in Matabeleland are full. In fact, we have more water in all the provinces compared to last year, except Mashonaland Central. National dams continue to gain storage and are forecast to harvest sufficient water to support more than 120 000ha of wheat, 6 500ha of barley and 8 750ha of potatoes without over-draining the dams.”
Agricultural and Rural Development Advisory Services acting chief director Mr Leonard Munamati said preparations for the 2025 winter cropping season are well underway.
“We are targeting 120 000 hectares again this season,” he said.
“The programme will be supported through a variety of funding models, including private sector contracts, the National Enhanced Agricultural Productivity Scheme and self-financing farmers.”
To guarantee uninterrupted power supply for irrigation, the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (Zesa) has ring-fenced 150 megawatts (MW) for wheat farmers, up from 120MW last year. Farmers have been asked to submit GPS coordinates and meter numbers for easier load prioritisation by the power utility.
To support land preparation and harvesting, the authorities are mobilising substantial equipment.Deputy director for Agricultural Engineering, Mechanisation and Farm Infrastructure Development Engineer Harrison Basikoro said 22 mechanisation cluster centres have been established across the country to give farmers access to affordable equipment.
“Each combine harvester can do at least 10 hectares per day . . . our capacity as far as harvesting for the 2024/2025 summer cropping will be roughly around 4 000 hectares per day minimum.
“So, if we consider a 150-day harvesting, then our minimum capacity will be close to 700 000 hectares minimum. There are no delays in transitioning to the winter wheat season.”
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