Wheat harvesting has started in Chegutu, with farmers having harvested 49 hectares at Scotsdale Farm in Ward 21.
In a statement yesterday, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Nick Mangwana said more harvesting was expected from the 3 671 hectares planted across the district.
“Wheat harvesting is now underway in Chegutu, with 49 hectares having been harvested so far at Scotsdale Farm in Ward 21.
There are still more crops to be harvested from the 3 671 hectares that were planted in the district, and we expect harvesting activities to intensify as farmers reach maturity,” he added.
Mangwana said farmers had, however, encountered several challenges during the production season, including water shortages in some water bodies, high input costs and concerns surrounding the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) billing system.
“These farmers faced a number of challenges during the production cycle. These included water shortages in some of the water bodies, input costs and the ZESA billing system.
The billing system discouraged some farmers from growing wheat, while others responded by reducing their hectarage. These factors affected decisions on the scale of production, despite the fact that electricity availability has greatly improved,”he noted
He said the improvement in electricity availability had provided some relief to farmers who rely on irrigation to sustain wheat production.
“On the positive side, electricity availability has greatly improved. This is important for farmers because wheat production requires reliable irrigation, particularly where water availability in dams and other water bodies is constrained,” Mangwana said.
Mangwana said attention was now shifting towards ensuring that farmers had sufficient access to combine harvesters to prevent delays during the harvesting window.
“The farmers are hoping that there will be adequate combine harvesters available to ensure timely harvesting of the crop,” he said.
He said timely harvesting was important because delays could expose mature wheat to losses and affect the quality of the crop.
“We need to make sure that the harvesting process moves efficiently as the crop reaches maturity. Adequate harvesting equipment will therefore be critical in ensuring that farmers get their crop off the fields on time,” Mangwana said.
The progress in Chegutu forms part of Zimbabwe’s broader drive to increase domestic wheat production and reduce reliance on imports, with irrigation-supported winter cropping remaining important to national food security and the country’s agricultural transformation agenda.
