Staff Reporter
The Pfumvudza/Intwasa programme has seen most families becoming food secure after long periods of shortages due to erratic rains.
The concept, which is a low input sustainable agriculture approach that helps to enhance household food and nutrition security, is useful during periods of low rains as moisture is trapped on the ground by the mulch that is prepared.
Zimbabwe first adopted the conservation agriculture concept in the 2020-2021 cropping season to climate proof agriculture by adopting conservation farming techniques on smallholder farming plots and applying good agronomic practices for higher yields.
After setting a winning strategy, the Government has since resolved to accelerate the climate-proofing of agriculture at the household and commercial levels to guarantee food security.
This came out during a recent Cabinet meeting after Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Minister, Dr Anxious Masuka, presented an update on the preparedness for the 2022/2023 summer production season.
Speaking during a post-Cabinet briefing on July 26, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Monica Mutsvangwa said: “The nation is informed that it is imperative that Zimbabwe achieves perennial food security despite the effects of climate change. Accordingly climate-proofing agriculture at household and commercial levels is going to be accelerated.
“The Covid-19 pandemic, the disruption of global supply chains for food, fuel and fertiliser, and geo-political developments, principally in major input and crop supply regions, have all heightened the need for Zimbabwe to attain our own seed, food, feed, fibre, bio-oils and bio-fuels security.
“The Agriculture and Food Systems Transformation Strategy will therefore be reviewed to guarantee maximum productivity, and to appropriately plan for increased production and productivity across all subsectors of agriculture. This will entail distributing seed according to regions in which they produce optimal yields.”
Minister Mutsvangwa said the targets had been discussed and agreed with all provinces, led by the Ministers of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution.
She said one of the biggest constraints to increasing productivity was soil acidity, where more than 70 percent of Zimbabwean soils were acidic and require liming in order to correct Ph for optimum crop productivity.
“The National Enhanced Agriculture Productivity Scheme (NEAPS) and the Special Programme for Import Substitution will be funded through AFC (Agriculture Finance Corporation) and CBZ Bank under Government performance guarantees,” said Minister Mutsvangwa.
She said the key enablers for the summer programme include support through supply of fertilisers, mechanisation, irrigation support programmes and capacitation of extension staff and farmers.
And as the rural industrialisation programme paces up, the Government has, under the Presidential Rural Development Programme, distributed eight drilling rigs, one to each of the rural provinces.
An additional 30 drilling rigs are expected in September.
“Twenty-five thousand households have received a total of 1 250 000 sweet potato vines while 2,3 million vegetable combos were distributed to 2,3 million households. A total of 10 000 fruit trees were distributed to 1 000 households, out of a target exceeding 18 million fruit trees, while one village nutrition garden was established in Mangwe District in Matabeleland South Province.
“One hundred and sixty boreholes have been drilled in 2022. The nation is advised that the Africa Development Bank Project on Zimbabwe Emergency Food Production is supported to the tune of US$25,5 million. The objective is to increase cereal and oil seed production, fertiliser distribution and policy support to mitigate the food crisis and build resilience for 180 000 farmers.”
In terms of the tobacco summer plan, indications are that 97 percent of the crop will be grown under contract.
The area under production is expected to be 129 500 hectares with an estimated volume of 190 to 200 million kilogrammes of flue cured tobacco against a tobacco Transformation Plan Target of 275 million kilogrammes.
From the 2021/2022 summer crop, tobacco 188 million kilogrammes worth US$572,3 million had been sold as of July 26.
Daily auction sales closed on July 20, but mop up sales were cleared to continue every Wednesday at all sales floors until all the tobacco had been sold. As at 20 July 2022, tobacco merchants had exported 84 227 566 kilogrammes of tobacco valued at US$398 595 501, compared to 73 238 993 kilogrammes exported during the same period last year, with a value of US$286 312 965.
