By Tendai Matunhu

Government has approved the maize, wheat and soya bean production recovery plan which seeks to achieve over US$8million Gross Agricultural Production Value by 2023.

Addressing the Post Cabinet Briefing yesterday, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said, “The recovery plan is an extract of the Agriculture and Food Systems Transformation Strategy (AFSTP), which seeks to achieve over US$8million Gross Agricultural Production Value (GAPV) by 2023. The recovery plan is anchored on the following strategic interventions; the financial services sector-led commercial contract farming programme, which will target 5000 highly productive farmers in irrigated areas promoting conservation agriculture and crop diversity.

“The commodity value chain financing model, whereby all private sector players that get raw material directly from agriculture are compelled to support and produce up to 40% of their requirements locally thru contract farming backward integration.

“Climate proofed Presidential input support scheme (Pfumvudza) which will support 1.6milion vulnerable households to produce maize with a standardised input package of 5kg seed, 50kg basal and 50kg top dressing fertilizer,” Minister Mutsvanga stated.

Other strategic interventions she mentioned were the pre-planting producer price announcement which has a bearing on planting and crop management decisions, the creation of a Lowveld Maize Belt (Masvingo), Bulawayo Kraal and Kanyemba where the country can enjoy two maize cycles per year. Another intervention being the speeding up irrigation development program, among other strategic interventions.

She added that maize, wheat and soya bean recovery plan, if implemented well, they have a potential to reverse the country’s dependence on imports, while at the same time mitigating the financial burden on Treasury and ultimately put the country on a trajectory to attain vision 2030.