Staff Writer
Zimbabwe is prioritising climate-proofing interventions for the 2024/25 season to enhance food security and reduce reliance on imports.
Under the Crops, Horticulture, Fisheries and Livestock Summer Plan for 2024/25, the Ministry of Agriculture aims to increase crop production and productivity, promote sustainable agriculture, and strengthen the country’s resilience to climate change.
The plan follows after the southern African nation’s 2023/24 season has been negatively impacted by the worst El Niño-induced drought in 43 years. The drought has had a significant negative impact on agricultural production and productivity.
The country recorded a 77% reduction in production to 744 271 metric tonnes for the 2023/24 summer season, indicating a major deficit in both food and feed requirements.
The 2024/25 plan is anchored on climate-proofed interventions at both household and national levels to produce surplus food and feed while making progress towards production of sufficient oils.
“For the 2024/25 season, the focus on crops will be based on agro-ecological tailoring of crops, enhancing climate-proofing at household level (Pfumvudza/Intwasa) and at National level (expansion of area under irrigation),” the plan says.
It says private sector participation in production will be enhanced in irrigation development to increase the area under summer irrigation from 75 000 hectares in the 2023/24 season to 90 000 hectares in the 2024/25 season.
The 2024/25 summer crop plan aims to sustainably increase crop production and productivity to surpass the national requirements for food and feed, by at least 10%.
For horticulture, the summer plan seeks to establish 10 000 village business units, distribute 200 000 fruit trees and 2 million sweet potato vines to 1.8 million households.
For fisheries, the summer plan seeks to stock 14 412 fishponds, with 28 824 000 fingerlings to produce 120,23 metric tonnes fish by winter 2025.
For livestock, the summer plan seeks to rebuild the national beef herd from the likely negative impact of panic destocking, water depletion and pasture and disease-induced mortality.
This will be done through increased infusion of better genetics by artificial insemination, to rehabilitate 1 000 dip tanks to bring functional dip tanks to 4 183 of the total of 4 183, to enhance pasture production, and reduce the disease burden and reduce cattle mortality to 6%.
For dairy and smaller stock, the summer plan seeks to build resilience through increased dairy, poultry, goats, piggery and sheep populations.
