Grain output to drop 15%

LIVINGSTONE MARUFU

Grain output will decline by 15%  this summer cropping season following erratic rainfall patterns, decrease in hectarage put under cropping and late input distribution, farmers unions have warned.

Official data obtained from the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement, showed that  farmers have planted about 1.9m hectares  this cropping season compared to about 2.3m hectares last year, reflecting a  23% drop.

Last year’s grain output was estimated to be around 3m tonnes. But, farmers expect output to drop this  cropping season.

“This summer cropping season’s hectares have gone  down from last year’s total planted area. With a very slow start to the season, excessive rainfall patterns and high fertiliser costs, the output is expected to go down,” the Zimbabwe Commercial Farmer Union president Shadreck Makombe told Business Times this week.

He added: “Though we don’t have a finer picture of what the crop and livestock assessment report will come out with, we expect the total output to go down  by between 6% and 15% from last year’s output of  3m tonnes of  grain.”

Makombe said farmers were experiencing serious leaching and water logging.

The first crop and livestock assessment being undertaken by government farmers unions is still underway.

The report is expected to be released by mid-February.

The assessment report will update the country on the area planted under different crops, the state of the crops and will also reveal the state of livestock, availability of pastures and water among other things.

The exercise will also identify areas of interventions as they relate to saving the crops and livestock and also make recommendations.

Zimbabwe Farmers Union secretary-general Paul Zakariya said Zimbabwe faces a tough agricultural season as extreme conditions dominate the current season.

“This summer cropping season is one of the toughest seasons to deal with as the rainfall season effectively started in January but rains were excessive. We fear that the output will significantly go down.

“I am not sure about the probable grain output this year but given the fertiliser prices, excessive rains and shortness of the summer cropping season, the picture looks gloomy,” Zakariya said.

He said whenever there is a complex agriculture season there is a need for high quality crop management and a good relationship with the Agritex officers to achieve good output under difficult conditions like these ones.

“Farmers are having a torrid time with water logging, leaching and weeds problems hence there  is a greater need to deal with them effectively to salvage something.

“Even if one applies herbicides or fertilisers, excessive rains are washing away everything forcing the farmer to apply many times,” he said.

The continuous application of herbicides and fertilisers have pushed up the cost of production.