via Bulawayo24 NEWS | ‘Zimbabwe’s agriculture to grow by 7,3%,’ says World Bank 28 April 2014
Zimbabwe’s agriculture will recover by 7,3 percent this year, the World Bank has said in its latest country report.
It said after a poor 2012\13 season, agriculture is expected to rebound largely on the back of an expected bumper maize harvest estimated at 1, 2 million tonnes.
“After a very weak 2012-2013 season, agriculture is expected to rebound by 7.3 percent in 2014, largely supported by recovery in maize (to 1.2 million tonnes). The first crop assessment estimates that 1.4 million hectares was planted to maize (18 percent increase from the previous season),” said the bank.
Government has said improvement in maize output in the 2013/14 season will be underpinned by normal rainfall received countrywide and timeous supply of inputs from both the state and private sector.
A total of 1, 6 million households benefitted from the Presidential Agriculture Inputs scheme. The World Bank said tobacco production will also increase bon account of increased planted hectarage.
According to the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board, a total of 103 163 growers planted about 97 982 hectares of tobacco currently being marketed.
The World Bank also projected an increase in cotton production this season.
“Despite a reduction in hectarage, cotton production is expected to register an improvement in 2014, benefiting from improved yields and favorable rains,” it said.
The Government has forecast cotton output to grow from 140 000 tonnes in 2013, to 180 000 tonnes in 2014.
Cotton hectarage declined from 450 000 hectares in the 2011/12 season to 241 849 hectares in the 2012/13 season because fewer farmers grew the crop due to unviable prices offered by local merchants. Cotton farmers switched to other crops such as tobacco that fetched attractively high prices. – See more at: http://bulawayo24.com/index-id-news-sc-national-byo-46618.html#sthash.pXrJieF1.dpuf
COMMENTS
Well done Zimbabwe. The Land Reform is paying dividends.
Mucha……what planet are you from? Where does Zim buy it’s food from, Zambia and SA……what dividends?
Oh really. we wish!
NBS do you hear yourself, bitterness seems to have taken over. I dont know how your comments will be when things improve under the hands of those you hate.
I don’t hate anyone Stay Well. And I will be very, very happy when our agriculture is fair and vibrant and feeding our nation. You totally misread what I am thinking. I have waited for years to see our lands become productive, and please Lord, may that happen but we have to sort out a few things before the Lord fIrst.
Not in my lifetime. How the hell can agriculture become vibrant when most of the top farms have been ruined by cell phone, weekend farmers?
I hope this is accurate…still a lot of concern in this sector regarding sustainability…
Has anyone noted, these are estimates from a notoriously dishonest government with Cde “Made” as their agricultural spokesman.
Mucha and Stay Well – how many time have we heard of bumper harvests?
How often was I told Indigenous people are natural farmers?
Bitterness there maybe but not the racial hatred of Mucha and his like.
I would hope for the sake of so many good Zimbabweans the agriculture does take of and reach the heights of pre 2000, though I doubt there is the political will and there are too many who believe the Aid companies will bail them out as seems to happen every year.
I will look with interest if this bumper does happen as it would appear there is no hinderance for it not to.
But if we had the real farmers the figure would be 730%.
I get worried! The Zimbabwe intellectual scene is just terrifying. Is there anything laudable about these figures? 1.4 million hectares planted yielding 1.2 million tonnes! That is scary. Our problem is that we live for the day and end up assuming anything is better than nothing. No wonder Temba Mliswa hit the roof when Made announced in parliament that Zimbabwe was going to have a bumper harvest.
The extent of the disaster is exposed by the following facts and statistics among others:
1) Zimbabwe received unusually good rains this year. Even areas that lie in regions 4 and 5, which are traditional food deficit areas, like Matebeleland South and Masvingo provinces for the first time are included in this 1.2 million tonnes expected harvest. There is no second guessing that next year the rainfall pattern as experienced this will not replicate itself. It is a certainty that come next season the country must subtract the portion that comes on account of the drought prone areas. Yes of course there is a sense of relief but not one worth celebrating.
2) In spite of the fact that this season was a coincidence of government inputs and good rainfall there is still a deficit of 0.6 million tonnes of cereal. In the 90s Zimbabwe was already producing upwards of 1.6 million tonnes of maize without region 4 and 5. Needless to mention that over 52% of all deliveries to the GMB were on account of communal farmers. Government has announced that next year it is not in a position to extent the same support to the farmers. Barring a miracle, especially given that it is battling to meet its statutory obligations of paying civil servants this position remains true. In any case the next season is only five months away so one may venture with a significant element of confidence that this year was a wasted season.
3) The yields are far more scary though. 1.2 million from 1.6 million hectares is discouraging. At the minimum the requirement for next year in inputs only for the same hectarage is anywhere upwards of $200 million almost 1/5 of the total requirement if Zimbabwe was to import its staple. I could go on.
To all intents and purposes what is evident from this season is simply a false recovery. It reminds me of Malawi a few years ago when there was a so called bumper harvest on the back of a similar coincidence of government input support and an exceptionally good rainfall season. The following year was a total disaster. It leaves me with doubt that what we witnessed this year is nothing to celebrate.
Bollocks!!We hear the same old story every year and when it is not realised it is because of too much rain,too dry or inputs were supplied too late!Subsistance and cellphone farmers will never feed the nation and export the surplace.
It’s a good thing how the agriculture of Zimbabwe grows every year. Im glad that it grows 7,3% this year. It tells that the way of farming is still good and improving. Kudos to all farmers in Zimbabwe! Thanks also to the author for sharing this.