Agriculture Reporter
Winter wheat harvesting is almost complete with reports indicating that only seven percent of the wheat is yet to be harvested.
A source within the Agriculture and Rural Development Advisory Services (ARDAS) who spoke to this publication revealed that as of last week, 93 percent of the planted area was already harvested and some of the produce delivered to the Grain Marketing Board (GMB).
“As of 7 December 2022, 80 885 hectares of wheat had been harvested across the country. A total of 361 539 metric tonnes were realized from the harvested area at an average of 4.4 metric tonnes per hectare. The harvest crop is 95 percent of the expected yield of approximately 380 000 metric tonnes,” said the source.
The same source highlighted that 138 929 tonnes of the harvested wheat valued at Z$35.3 billion and US$ 29 million had already been delivered to the GMB. The source added that as of Friday last week, a total of Z$19 billion and US$3, 5 million had been paid to farmers by the GMB for Presidential Input and self-financed wheat.
According to the source, this year the Government also allowed contractors to buy back wheat grown under contract.
A source at the GMB revealed that pursuant to the decision by Treasury to buy 80 percent of wheat that was financed by contractors under the National Enhanced Agricultural Productivity Scheme (NEAPS), Z$14 billion has been released to GMB to start paying farmers.
The same source added that the wheat crop which had not been harvested yet had already reached maturity and harvesting was underway in all provinces. However, the source said that harvesting in some areas was being affected by high moisture content from the rains.
According to the contact, about 3 800 hectares of the wheat crop were affected by the rains. This translated to approximately 16 720 metric tonnes which had to be written off.
Meanwhile, the Government is projecting to harvest between 380,000 and 400,000 tonnes of wheat this year, which exceeds the country’s average annual needs. The bumper harvest is a result of a collective effort by farmers, financial institutions, the private sector, and Government. The bumper harvest comes against the background of policies and strategies put in place by Government to attain flour and wheat self-sufficiency to stave off shortages caused by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
