The Sunday Mail
Dr John Basera
Past experiences in wheat production
WHEAT is one such critical strategic crop that ranks second in the food and nutrition security basket. It is grown entirely under irrigation between April and September. The national annual wheat requirement is 360 000 tonnes guaranteeing a monthly consumption of 30 000 t. The wheat import bill has been draining the fiscus for far too long albeit great potential, hence the import substitution thrust espoused by the Second Republic. As a result, production is exponentially growing from a deep of 58,000t in 2015 to current figures above the national annual wheat requirement of 360,000t.
Changing the wheat narrative
In 2022, the Ministry’s priorities were motivated by the theme “attaining flour self-sufficiency at any cost”, inspired by the need to institute prompt measures to offset the negative impact of Covid-19, which was exacerbated by the geopolitical conflict in Eastern Europe that weighed heavily on logistical and commodity supply chains. This lead to an unprecedented increase in prices of food (wheat included), fuel and fertilisers.
Further, there was realisation that overreliance on international trade floors for goods and services of strategic importance like wheat may lead to disastrous consequences in the event of unforeseen happenings like trade blockages.
The theme birthed the establishment of right institutional arrangements, perfect networks and water-tight interventions to support development of the value-chain including growing the production base.
Smart partnerships with the private sector, individual farmers, line Ministries, departments, agencies and the banking sector yielded positive results culminating into a successful 2022 winter wheat record crop. The country produced 375 131t of wheat, 13 percent higher than the 2021 production of 335 000t. Zimbabwe alongside Ethiopia are the only African countries that are currently wheat self-sufficient. The production figure for the 2022 winter season is the highest-ever achieved since 1962 when wheat was first grown in Zimbabwe.
The 2023 wheat production game plan
The performance bar set by the wheat sub-sector in 2022 is unprecedented. Thus, the Ministry is committed to aim higher and surpass yesteryear’s performance. The Ministry adopted a new theme dubbed “Wheat Production; Going for Growth” in line with reinforcing Government’s import substitution thrust, attaining food security and saving scarce foreign currency resources whilst aiming to become a regional wheat supply hub.
The theme is buttressed by a strong belief that Zimbabwe can prevail agriculturally amidst the 3Cs challenges namely; climate change, Covid-19 and the conflict in Eastern Europe. For sure, we shall prevail.
In the 2023 winter season, at least 85 000Ha of wheat is targeted to produce over 408,000t at an estimated productivity level of 4.8t/ha. This production growth target is premised on having “all the ducks in row” in terms of ensuring all prerequisites for a successful season are in place. As such, the growth target is anchored on a funding model that borrows its strength and wings on smart partnerships for mutual accountability and responsibility for delivery.
The private sector establishment (Food Crop Contractors Association), self-financing farmers, the banking sector (running with the National Enhanced Agriculture Productivity Scheme) and the Presidential Input Programme is already geared and preparations for the start of the season are at an advanced stage.
Government took a deliberate stance to crowd-in the participation of banks and private sector institutions to fund agricultural production using various models including Contract Farming and Joint Ventures Frameworks. CBZ- Agro-Yield and AFC Land Bank who are funding winter production under the National Enhanced Agricultural Productivity Scheme (NEAPS) are contracting a total of 35 000ha which is 41 percent of the total area being targeted.
Off-takers of agricultural commodities especially the milling industry is committed to fund production of at least 40 percent of what they require annually as per Government policy. We did this for the reasons of agricultural transformation and rural development, employment creation and spurring economic development whilst preserving local jobs in the upstream manufacturing, distribution, logistics and service industries inclusive of insurance companies.
This policy thrust has already proved attractive and successful in luring increased investment into the agriculture sector. In 2022, the Food Crop Contractors Association (FCCA) which is a consortium of Private Sector off-takers of agricultural commodities was created to support local production. FCCA supported big time the 2022 winter wheat production and the current 2022/2023 summer cropping season targeting maize and soyabean production. The consortium pledged to support a total of 25 000ha of wheat under a contract farming framework which is 29 percent of total area being targeted.
Multilateral institutions such as the African Development Bank (AfDB) are also players in the game and will be assisting Government to expand wheat production under the Zimbabwe Emergency Food Production Programme (ZEFPP) targeting 8,134ha estimated to produce over 39,000ha of wheat.
Government is not only providing the right environment but is also heavily supporting wheat production through the Presidential Input Support Programme (PIP). This support has a social safety net programme targeting the most disadvantaged communities with a view of ensuring no irrigating smallholder farmer in any corner of the country is left behind in line with His Excellency, President Mnangagwa’s Vision 2030 imperative. The PIP is supporting smallholder farmers with less than 3ha with a standard input package.
The PIP is expected to support 20 000 Ha, a 100 percent increase from the 2022 winter support and is estimated to produce over 96,000t of wheat.
Key touch points for success
Planning for this winter season started in summer and a number of boxes have so far been green – ticked to guarantee success. The critical success factors to realise this endeavor are as follows;
Uninterrupted supply of electricity for irrigation
Our Ministry and the Ministry of Energy and Power Development have reactivated the Agriculture Energy Task Force to coordinate strategies to ensure electricity provision is adequate.
Sufficient electricity will be ring-fenced to wheat production clusters throughout the wheat production cycle.
Full story on www.sundaymail.co.zw
Network of highly capacitated extension staff
The game plan is anchored on a network of highly capacitated extension staff stationed across all wheat growing districts and wards of the country providing extension expertise and receiving valued feedback from farmers and other key stakeholders.
Extension staff countrywide were capacitated with motorbikes to enhance mobility. They also received modern tablets to keep them abreast with latest agricultural developments. Also, they get periodic allocations of mobile data to connect them to the world of knowledge.
A Training of Trainers (TOT) programme for them is already under implementation to ensure they get new sector updates and be in a position to provide solutions to emerging wheat farming challenges. This is important to augment our thrust of taking farming as a business at household level and moulding our farmers into real business people.
Irrigation development
Wheat is an irrigated crop and climate-proofing production is essential to sustain achievement of the envisaged growth. The Ministry is implementing the Accelerated Irrigation Rehabilitation and Development Plan aiming to increase area under functional irrigation from the current 93 000ha to 350 000ha by year 2025. Flagship programmes such as Smallholder Irrigation Revitalisation Programme (SIRP), Turnkey Irrigation Programme, NEAPS supported by Maka Resources and CBZ Bank and Pedstock Facility administered through the AFC Land and Development Bank, are aimed at harnessing the country’s water bodies potential of irrigating over 2 million hectares.
The Ministry is aggressively exploring ways to revitalise all 450 smallholder irrigation schemes to unlock all the 26 000ha. ARDA is the designated scheme manager responsible for coordinating all irrigation scheme businesses and making them viable and sustainable. For the past three seasons, the increase in area under irrigation (44 000Ha in 2020, 66 453ha in 2021 and 80 833ha in 2022) during winter season is a result of the increase in the area under functional irrigation as a result of implementing the Accelerated Irrigation Rehabilitation and Development Plan.
Inputs availability
Availability and timely delivery of inputs to farmers is a critical success factor for the winter production season. Currently there is basal fertiliser and wheat seed in stock from various local suppliers enough to cover the targeted area of 85 000Ha. To support mechanisation services, a Zimbabwean dollar fuel facility by Petrotrade managed by AMA will be expanded to avail fuel to wheat farmers weekly.
There is enough tillage capacity to adequately and timeously till the 85 000ha under the Belarus Phase 1 and 2, John Deere and AFC Leasing Company and private tillage services providers. There are also over 150 combine harvesters which are adequate for harvesting both the summer crop in time for winter planting. Smooth transition into winter cropping is enhanced and further buttressed by availability of drying facilities on offer by GMB. Its 20 mobile grain dryers have enough capacity to dry 840t daily complimenting the private sector that have dryers with a drying capacity of 100 000t per day, all enough to facilitate and guarantee the transition to winter cropping.
Funding
Funding for the 2023 winter wheat production season will be largely Government facilitated and private sector led. The Bankers Association of Zimbabwe, RBZ and Treasury have committed sufficient funds. Government will fully fund the Presidential Winter Wheat Programme. Treasury will avail innovative structured guarantees for banks to support NEAPS.
Marketing
The Ministry has adopted a liberalised marketing regime where growers are compelled to sell their produce contracted by Government to the Grain Marketing Board to cover loan repayments. The rest of the produce can be sold under a “willing seller-willing buyer” basis.
However, Government through GMB remains the buyer of last resort of any strategic commodities. The Ministry is currently amending S.I 188 of 2021 that regulates marketing of wheat and barley to allow free marketing of wheat except for the contracted crop.
In 2020 Government adopted a policy position as articulated in the Agriculture Recovery Plan, that a pre-planting producer price be pronounced before the onset of a season. This is an acknowledgment that farming is a business and farmers require the appropriate incentives to produce crops.
