Winter wheat cropping set to decline in Mat

20 Apr, 2014 - 00:04 0 Views
Winter wheat cropping set to decline in Mat It is feared that most farmers in Matabeleland are likely to boycott winter wheat and barley cropping due to lack of resources

The Sunday News

It is feared that most farmers in Matabeleland are likely to boycott winter wheat and barley cropping due to lack of resources

It is feared that most farmers in Matabeleland are likely to boycott winter wheat and barley cropping due to lack of resources

Farming Reporter
THE area to be put under wheat crop in Matabeleland region is likely to decline drastically this season as farmers are struggling to raise adequate funds to purchase inputs.
The Department of Agricultural Technical and Extension Services (Agritex) Matabeleland North chief extension officer, Mr Dumisani Nyoni said most farmers were likely to boycott winter wheat and barley cropping due to lack of resources.

He said the province would see 240 hectares being put under wheat while 200 would be under barley.

The area under wheat would have significantly dropped from about the 450 hectares of wheat that was grown last year.

“Most of the farmers are still to remove the crop from last season with most of them already citing difficulties in sourcing funds for fertilisers, seed and land preparations.

“To make matters worse farmers in Umguza are likely to have their irrigating schedules disrupted since they are using prepaid meters for electricity and this is discouraging most of them,” Mr Nyoni said.

“Most farmers are going to struggle unless if Government introduces a scheme to assist them to establish the crop,” Mr Nyoni said.

Matabeleland South provincial agronomist Mr Innocent Nyathi said preparations for the winter crop in the province were yet to be done but farmers in the area were faced with a myriad of challenges that were likely to affect the hectarage for wheat plantations.

“We haven’t started preparations per se but we have only identified irrigation schemes that will grow wheat. However, farmers will have to travel all the way to Bulawayo to get the seed and this is rather discouraging.

“We are looking at having 800 to 1 000 hectares being put under wheat. The reason we are having a low hectarage is due to lack of activity at Agricultural Rural Development Authority’s two estates which are Ngwizi and Antelope,” Mr Nyathi said.

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