The Sunday News
Ngonidzashe Chiutsi Farming Correspondent
A CROP breeding expert has said poor crop management, among other factors, is contributing to poor yields per hectare in the country compared to other farmers in the region. Research by experts show that farmers in Zambia or South Africa are getting about 30 tonnes of maize per hectare while local farmers are getting between 10 to 15 tonnes per hectare.
In an interview, an expert with the Crop Breeding Institute, Mr Marco Mare, demystified why Zimbabwean farmers are getting poor yields per hectare.
“There are various reasons why local farmers get poor yields. The natural regions that farmers are farming may be different as you will find out for example in Zimbabwe CS513 is mainly promoted in Region 3 areas — like Kadoma but maybe in Zambia and South Africa it’s grown in places that are like Region 2 where the soils are fertile. These are some of the issues that need to be investigated,” he said.
“The other issue is of the management practices. In Zimbabwe we have challenge of poor weed management where farmers are failing to weed leading to poor yields. In South Africa, farmers have better management practices and have resources to control the weeds.
“Again in terms of crop protection, we are still lagging behind where most farmers lose their crops to pests and diseases. In South Africa farmers can afford to buy chemicals and get better yields.”
Mr Mare said most farmers especially in rural areas lack resources to adequately finance farming business.
“Most small scale farmers do not have money to buy fertilisers. An old woman, for example in Tsholotsho, cannot afford to buy a bag of compound D fertiliser which costs about $34,” said Mr Mare.
This week, Zimbabwe is set to host The African Seed Traders Association annual congress, a platform set to discuss among the problem of poor yields per hectare in Zimbabwe.
More than 500 delegates from seed producing companies, mostly in Africa are expected to gather in Victoria Falls to deliberate on issues including improving production capacity and quality of seed.
Other issues to be tackled at the congress include using the latest technology for enhanced seed production, harmonisation, implementation and seed regulations at the regional community levels and comprehensive approach for the strengthening of seed associations in Africa.
In an interview with Sunday Business, Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers’ Union (ZCFU) Matabeleland North provincial chairman, Mr Winstone Babbage, expressed concern over the low yields per hectare that famers in Zimbabwe were facing.
“The congress should answer some issues where in Zimbabwe we are getting poor yields per hectare compared to South Africa or Zambia although we are using the same seed varieties produced by the same companies,” said Mr Babbage.
It costs $1 200 to grow a hectare of wheat in Zimbabwe compared to $230 in Ukraine, $580 in Russia and $600 in Australia.
The country produced 325 000 tonnes in 1990 from 56 000 hectares at an average yield of 5,8 tonnes per hectare. However, the yields went down to 2,9 tonnes per hectare in 2007.
