Pretty Manyewe
The anticipated bumper harvest from the 2020/21 farming season will both save the country hundreds of millions of dollars in food imports and be a contributor to employment creation.
Zimbabwe is expecting an increased grain production driven by good rains that were received during the season and thorough and timeous preparations.
The Presidential input Scheme has contributed greatly to the bumper harvest as it saw more than two million households from the country’s right Agricultural Provinces benefitting.
Inputs were distributed to farmers who had undergone training of the conservative and climate proofed method of Pfumvudza/Intwasa which was launched last year by President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
In a recent media address, Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Senator Monica Mutsvangwa highlighted that the projections from the 2020/21 season First National Crop and Livestock Assessment noted that the area planted for maize increased by 24 percent from 1.5 million to 1.9 million hectares.
“On the basis of the estimates, Grain Marketing Board (GMB) is expecting deliveries of 2.8 million metric tonnes of maize and a significant output of other traditional grains,” she said.
This will result in the country saving more that USD$200 million which can then be used to support ongoing projects to modernize the country’s infrastructure, improve standards of living and create employment which is in line with Vision 2030 and the National Development Strategy (NDS1)
Import substitution is at the centre of government strategy for NDS-1 which emphasises on production and more production.
The harvest has already seen GMB receiving more than 6000 tonnes of maize since the beginning of the marketing season. This has prompted the Government to set up additional buying points in anticipation of increased deliveries in the upcoming weeks.
Minister of Lands, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement, Dr Anxious Masuka noted that maize and other grain products such as Soya beans were declared controlled products meaning that they could only be sold to designated buyers.
“The marketing season for maize and traditional grains has started and maize and other grains have been declared controlled products. All the 84 GMB depots are open all days of the week, while 1389 buying points have been identified for the convenience of farmers with 400 collections points being identified. The target is to have 1800 buying points countrywide,” he said.
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