The Sunday Mail
Theseus Shambare
FARMERS registered under the climate-proofed Pfumvudza/Intwasa scheme will start receiving inputs by the end of this week, the Government has said.
More than three million farmers have registered for the conservation agriculture scheme, with at least 1,5 million having undergone training to date.
Delivery of the inputs to the beneficiaries will start on October 1, which will be a record time. In the past, inputs for such schemes were distributed in November or December.
With the Southern Africa Regional Climate Outlook Forum predicting normal to above normal rainfall for the 2022-2023 season, the Meteorological Services Department last week issued a localised rainfall forecast that predicts the season will come into full swing from the first week of November.
In line with this report, the Government is pulling out all the stops to ensure farmers are prepared ahead of time to guarantee a bumper harvest.
In an interview with The Sunday Mail, Agricultural and Rural Development Advisory Services (ARDAS) Directorate chief director, Professor Obert Jiri, said delivery of inputs to the Grain Marketing Board is well in progress, with farmers set to collect their allocations from their nearest GMB depots.
“We are working round the clock to make sure our farmers get inputs in time. I can safely say on October 1, farmers will start receiving them. Best agricultural seasons are determined by farmers’ preparedness and Government is guaranteeing availability of inputs in time. Farmers need to get their fields ready through holing, gathering mulch and participating in the training we are carrying out countrywide,” said Prof Jiri.
Farmers will receive 20 000 tonnes of maize seed, while fertiliser and lime will be supplied in batches of 150 000 tonnes. Other seeds to be delivered are 5 966 tonnes of sorghum, 2 026 tonnes of pearl millet, 1 195 tonnes of sunflower, 2 658 tonnes of groundnuts, 1 215 tonnes of sugar beans and 907 tonnes of cowpeas.
This year, farmers are expected to put two million hectares under maize, 380 000 ha under sorghum, 250 000 ha under pearl millet and 25 000 ha under finger millet.
ARDAS acting director for training and information Mrs Nester Gumbo revealed that this year, Government will distribute inputs according to farmers’ agro-ecological regions.
“Farmers in agro-ecological Regions 1 and Region 2 are expected to grow maize, soyabean and sugar beans. These are considered high potential areas. Long and medium season varieties of maize are suitable for such areas and produce high yields.
“In Region 3, farmers will get a 5kg pack of maize seed as maize’s dominance continues to fall, while a sharp increase in influence of traditional grains and sunflower comes to the fore due to their short season qualities and drought tolerance,” Mrs Gumbo said.
Mrs Gumbo said Regions 4 and 5 receive less rainfall, making it uneconomic for farmers to produce maize under rain-fed systems.
“Farmers in these regions will, however, get a two-kilogramme pack of maize seed. Farmers in these zones are encouraged to grow traditional grains such as sorghum, pearl millet, sunflower and cow peas, which tolerate long dry spells and perform very well with little rainfall amounts,” she said.
She implored farmers to continue working with ARDAS extension officers for effective service delivery.
“To date, a total of 1 584 454 farmers have undergone training and have prepared their plots by digging seed holes and gathering mulch,” she added.
Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union president Dr Shadreck Makombe welcomed Government’s drive to equip farmers in time.
“This is a good move by the Government. With rains expected in early November, farmers have enough time to prepare their land for Pfumvudza, knowing they have inputs.
“We also urge farmers to practise rainwater harvesting throughout the season for any probable mid-season dry spell so that they can irrigate their crops since they are small plots, which are manageable,” said Dr Makombe.
At the recently held Zimbabwe Agricultural Show, Minister for Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Dr Anxious Masuka assured farmers of a corruption-free distribution process. ARDAS, GMB and the Agricultural Marketing Authority (AMA) have been jointly assigned to make sure the process runs smoothly.
“What we will do, from this season onwards, is to change the role of GMB depot managers to that of supply chain managers so that they can account for inputs delivered to their catchment areas,” he said.
Also, this year, the Government has set up an input distribution committee in every ward to curb corruption.
AMA is also developing a national database that will ensure traceable progress and numbers in real time for transparency.
Pfumvudza/Intwasa, which contributed 33 percent of the maize output last year, is expected to anchor this summer cropping season by supporting three million households and 500 000 urban farmers.
