The ManicaPost
Samuel Kadungure
Senior Reporter
AS the 2023 winter season stretches, the availability of two strategic ingredients— water and power supply — has been guaranteed, putting the country on course to irrigate 85 000 hectares and attain the projected 408 000 metric tonnes of wheat.
Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) and ZESA Holdings have assured the nation that they have enough water in dams and electricity to irrigate the projected hectarage.
In Manicaland, planting of the cereal crop is in full throttle with more than 2 000 hectares having already been planted under irrigation.
Manicaland has a target of 9 500ha.
Makoni District will have the largest area under wheat (4 350ha), followed by Mutasa (1 950ha), Nyanga (1 800ha), Mutare (1 100ha) and Chipinge (478ha).
All irrigation schemes in the province will be put under wheat production.
This has raised hope that this season’s wheat hectarage might surpass the set target as a result of the good rains received this year.
Wheat is highly sensitive to moisture deficits, especially during the critical phases of heading, flowering and early grain-fill, hence the wide usage of irrigation in its production.
This makes uninterrupted water and power supply indispensable ingredients in wheat production.
Wheat irrigation has to be done on scheduled times to avoid withering of the crop, which compromises both the quality and quantity of the yield.
More farmers were lured to take up wheat farming after the announcement of attractive producer price in which the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) will pay US$580 per tonne.
US$300 will be paid in foreign currency and the remainder in local currency at the prevailing bank rate.
ZINWA spokesperson, Mrs Marjorie Munyonga said the national dam level average stood at 92 percent against an expected dam level average of 71, 2 percent expected this time of the year.
“ZINWA wishes to advise the farming community and stakeholders in the agricultural sector that there is sufficient water in the dams to irrigate the 85 000ha winter wheat target set by Government for the 2023 season. Major dams have enough water to irrigate a total of 238 348ha of irrigable land across the provinces.
“With water being the second most strategic input for the winter cropping activities, coming only after land, ZINWA wishes to assure stakeholders and farmers that a robust and convenient mechanism has been put in place to ensure that all people in need of water for winter cropping access the resource.
“Farmers and other water users intending to draw water from ZINWA owned and managed dams are therefore advised to visit their respective catchment offices to obtain water abstraction agreements.These water abstraction agreements will allow ZINWA to efficiently and sustainably allocate the available water among competing users.
“Farmers are further advised to work closely with their extension officers or any other competent individuals in coming up with their water requirements to avoid overstating or understating,” she said.
Mrs Munyonga said they have put convenient modalities for farmers to settle their water bills, which include stop orders and engaging contractors to assist with water bills settlement.
“ZINWA remains ready and open to play its rightful role in ensuring the success of the current winter cropping season as the country drives towards the being food sufficient and food secure,” she said.
Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) has also pledged to provide uninterrupted electricity to farmers to allow the country to achieve its target.
In a statement on Tuesday, ZESA said mechanisms were put in place to guarantee electricity supply to all the winter wheat farmers.
“ZESA Holdings is pleased to announce that the utility is cognisant of its role and expectations in powering this sector to achieve wheat self-sufficiency and meet the Government’s target of 85 000 hectares for the year 2023,” it said.
Accordingly, the utility has put in place the requisite modalities to ring fence 120MW towards this national initiative.
In a bid to minimise the duration of power outages due to network faults throughout the season, ZESA has established support groups for wheat farmers for effective communication and expeditious resolution of faults.
Wheat farmers can join the groups through their cluster leadership while the National Contact Centre will be available for continuous and timeous support throughout the season.
This is expected to produce 408 000 tonnes of the cereal, well above the 375 000 tonnes of last year and the minimum of 360 000 tonnes needed for self-sufficiency.
Agronomists in Manicaland are urging farmers to wrap up land preparations and avoid missing crucial planting dates which will compromise yields.
Timing of planting has a major effect on the yield, and for wheat, early planting at the beginning of May is advisable as yields decrease with late planting.
