Judith Phiri, Business Reporter
WITH the harvesting of the early planted winter wheat drawing closer, farmers in the Matabeleland region are making preparations to guarantee a seamless and timely reaping of the valuable cereal.
The Government has taken the proactive step of securing 310 combine harvesters and they are optimistic of surpassing 600 000 tonnes, banking on the strong average yield of six to seven tonnes per hectare that is likely to be realised come harvest time.
The 310-combine harvester fleet is set to process up to 3 900 hectares per day. This season, 121 982 hectares have been put under wheat, surpassing the set target of 120 000.
To optimise the deployment and utilisation of combine harvesters, the Government has also established winter wheat clusters to streamline logistics and service provision associated with the essential harvesting equipment.
The clustering model allows for targeted allocation of the 310 combine harvesters, ensuring that the machinery is deployed in a manner that best serves the needs of farmers within each designated region.
Agricultural Advisory and Rural Development Services’ acting Provincial director for Matabeleland North, Mr Thulani Ndlovu said they expect to start harvesting by the end of this month.
“We have 1 913 hectares under wheat and we expect to commence the first harvest in the last week of September. We have four combine harvesters, which are privately owned and we expect two more to assist in terms of hiring by other farmers. Private combine harvesters are also there for hiring,” he said.
Agricultural Advisory and Rural Development Services Provincial director for Matabeleland South, Mrs Shupikai Sibanda said: “The province is ready to harvest the winter wheat. We are working together with AFC since they have a banking facility for the repayment of loans from farmers. In terms of combine harvesters, Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (Arda) Antelope has got two, lnsiza has one, Marema in Beitbridge has one, Smith of Beitbridge has three and Luwade in Beitbridge has one as well,” he said.
There are six Government-linked companies and organisations that offer services and support for operating and maintaining combine harvesters complemented by individual farmers as well as private sector agricultural companies.
These include the Agricultural Financing Company (AFC) Leasing, Arda, Department of Mechanisation Development, the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS), the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) and Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF).
The Government has also deployed 108 dryers across the country. The dryers have a total drying capacity of 96 tonnes per day and this will guarantee that the harvest is protected in case early rains are received.
According to preliminary data obtained from the Zimbabwe National Geospatial and Space Agency (Zingsa) satellite images captured by Zimbabwe’s space satellite — ZimSat-1 — indicate that, while a “significant portion” of the winter wheat crop was still developing, current data is pointing towards a bumper harvest.
Using the multi-temporal satellite images collection technique to harvest data between May and July, experts at Zingsa were able to accurately project winter crop production in some parts of the country.
The complex and highly technical data collection technique involves acquiring satellite images of the same area at different times. The images can be acquired using a single satellite or multiple satellites.
They can be acquired at different times of the day, different seasons or even different years.
