The Sunday Mail
Business Reporter
FARMERS believe the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA)’s undertaking to ring-fence 120 megawatts and ensure uninterrupted supplies for the winter cropping season will help in boosting output of the cash crop.
Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) chief executive officer Mr Sam Miller told The Sunday Mail Business that power shortages had always been a “perennial problem” for wheat farmers.
“As farmers, we are pleased to hear such an initiative as it gives us the assurance that we will not lose our crops due to lack of power. We are raring to go, with all the inputs almost in place, and targeting another record harvest,” Mr Miller said.
“Power has been a perennial problem for us and hearing such news is a delight. Farmers have been told to get into clusters so that they are given uninterrupted power supply, and, as we speak, that is being done.”
Government plans to produce more than 408 000 tonnes of wheat from 85 000 hectares this year. At a media briefing last week, Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Minister Dr Anxious Masuka said farmers had been put into clusters to facilitate uninterrupted power supplies.
“The Government has ring-fenced 120 megawatts required to irrigate the winter crop,” he said.
“Additionally, we now have increased production at Kariba. For the next three months, production will be raised by 100 megawatts. And we have put farmers into clusters so they can receive uninterrupted power supply.”
ZESA spokesperson Dr George Manyaya said mechanisms are already in place to guarantee electricity to all winter wheat farmers.
“Subsequent to the recent update on the power supply situation on April 25, we have put in place mechanisms to guarantee electricity supply to all the winter wheat farmers across the country. The utility is cognisant of its role and expectations in powering the sector to achieve wheat self-sufficiency and meet Government’s target,” he said.
“Accordingly, the utility has put in place the requisite modalities to ring-fence 120MW towards this national initiative. Furthermore, in a bid to minimise the duration of power outages due to network faults throughout the season, the utility has established support groups for winter wheat farmers for effective communication and expeditious resolution of faults.”
ZESA also urged wheat farmers to join support groups through their cluster leadership.
Government has already set a pre-planting floor producer price for the cereal at US$520 per tonne, while the Grain Marketing Board exit price of wheat to millers for current stocks has been reviewed to US$572 per tonne, paid as US$300 in foreign currency and US$272 in local currency at the interbank rate of every Tuesday.
