AT least 1 300 hectares have been put under wheat so far out of the targeted 120 000 hectares, with 9 000 hectares prepared and ready for planting.
Acting chief director for Agricultural Advisory and Rural Development Services (AARDS) in the ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Leonard Munamati said this at the weekend.
He said contracting of farmers by different companies was progressing well throughout the country with at least 66 000 hectares having been contracted so far.
Munamati said joint venture programmes under the Agriculture and Rural Development Authority (ARDA), which allow farmers to access inputs fast and grow wheat for use under the Strategic Grain Reserve, were also going on well, with the selection of suitable farmers in progress and standing at 75 percent.
He said with power outages expected to intensify over the coming few months largely due to the dwindling water levels in Kariba Dam, the department had guaranteed electricity to the wheat farmers by ring-fencing them in clusters.
The Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) was assessing the adequacy of water for the targeted hectarage, he said. Turning to payments for delivered crops, Munamati assured farmers that they would be paid within seven days unlike in the past.
“While we apologies to the farmers for late payment of wheat grown in 2023, payment shall be done within seven days as promised,” he said. – New Ziana