TRYMORE TAGWIREI
CHIPINGE TIMES REPORTER

CHIPINGE – Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development has allocated Manicaland Province 13 000 of the 120 000 hectares targeted nationwide for this year’s winter wheat season.
The ministry’s permanent secretary professor Obert Jiri told a Manicaland Winter Wheat Seminar at Greenfuel Boardroom recently that the province is one of the best wheat producers and as a result gets a bigger allocation.
“Years back we struggled to put 2 000 hectares of wheat in this province but last year alone the province exceptionally put 11 000 hectares under wheat and more wheat was produced in Mutasa, Nyanga, Rusape and Chipinge. This winter wheat season we want to plant 13 000 hectares. If we plant now our harvests are guaranteed to be over 5 tonnes per hectare.
“Middle Sabi cluster was among the top quality wheat producers in the country and we came with our partners to work with you in order to restore your past glories. We had engineers from the Mechanisation Department, Grain Marketing Board (GMB), ARDA, AMA and other partners that will help you to come up with good yields,” he said.
He also said that the Ministry is going to engage Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) and Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (Zesa) on behalf of the farmers to discuss the possibilities of seasonal billing.