Zimbabwe to boost agric production amid shifting climate patterns

Staff Writer

The government has unveiled an ambitious plan to boost agricultural production in the upcoming 2024/25 summer season, targeting a significant increase in cereal yields.

The plan comes amid a devastating El Niño-induced drought that ravaged the 2023/24 season. El Niño, a cyclical warming of the Pacific Ocean, disrupts global weather patterns, leading to erratic rainfall and scorching temperatures in Southern Africa, including Zimbabwe.

Speaking during a post-cabinet media briefing, Information Minister Jenfan Muswere said the 2024/25 Crops, Horticulture, Fisheries and Livestock Summer Plan is the cornerstone of the government’s broader agriculture strategy.

He said authorities are optimistic about the upcoming season, citing the increasing likelihood of a La Niña weather pattern, which typically brings more rainfall.

“The 2024/25 Summer Plan is the implementation mechanism for the Agriculture, Food Systems and Rural Transformation Strategy. The Plan comes on the back drop of an El Niño-ravaged 2023/2024 summer season and prediction of better rainfall, given the increasing probability for a La Niña phenomenon in the 2024/2025 summer season,” Muswere said.

The plan focuses on boosting the production of cereals, oilseeds, and industrial crops for both domestic consumption and export.

The government aims to more than quadruple cereal output from the previous season’s 750 000 metric tonnes to over 3.2 million metric tonnes. To achieve this, the area under cultivation for cereals will expand from 2.3 million hectares to 2.5 million hectares.

Maize, a staple food, will be a key focus. Production is projected to surge from 63 000 metric tonnes to 2.7 million metric tonnes. Additionally, the average maize yield is expected to jump from 0.8 metric tonnes per hectare to 1.5 metric tonnes per hectare.

The government is also targeting a significant increase in traditional grain yields, from 180 kilograms per hectare to 800 kilograms per hectare. This is seen as crucial for food security and rural livelihoods.

The climate-proofed Presidential Input Support Scheme targets to support 1.8 million households from communal, A1, small-scale commercial farming, old resettlement and peri-rural households for the production of cereals, oilseeds and legumes.

The Presidential Community Fisheries Programme as part of developing the fisheries value chain.

On livestock value-chain development, the target for the 2024/25 Summer Plan is to increase the beef cattle herd from 5 718 523 in 2023/2024 to 5 798 582.

Goat numbers would increase from 5 087 155 in 2023/2024 to 5 239 769 while milk production is also expected to increase from 99 821 752 litres in 2023/2024 to 115 000 000 litres.

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