Arda eyes 25pc increase in maize hectarage

Business Reporter

THE Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (ARDA) is increasing the hectarage under grain by 25 percent to nearly 100 000 hectares (ha) this summer cropping season, as the parastatal moves to fulfil part of its strategic mandate of ensuring national food security.

The Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Development estimates that putting 100 000ha under maize has the potential to yield at least 350 000 tonnes of grain.

As part of its mandate, ARDA produces maize from its vast estates dotted across the country, equipped with irrigation facilities, as well as through joint venture initiatives with individual farmers or the private sector.

The authority owns 21 estates across Zimbabwe with about 98 000ha of arable land, of which 19 000ha have irrigable capacity.

Before the advent of the Second Republic, most of ARDA’s farming estates were idle or underutilised following years of neglect and lack of investment.

But during the last summer cropping season, ARDA, together with its partners, put 80 000ha under grain crops, 60 000ha of which were under the maize crop while 20 000ha had drought-tolerant traditional grains such as sorghum.

ARDA chairperson Mr Irvin Craig said the parastatal was mandated to play a proactive role in contributing to Zimbabwe’s food security, hence the plans to increase the land under grain.

The need for such a proactive approach to ensuring national food security has become an urgent one, especially given the impact this year’s El Niño-induced drought had on Zimbabwe’s agriculture. It left millions of people food-insecure, prompting concerted efforts by the Government and partners to make sure that no one starves or dies from hunger.

In response to the Government’s call for farmers to respond to the adverse impact of climate change by growing drought-resistant crops such as small grains, ARDA said in the 2024/2025 summer cropping season it would increase the land under such grains by 100 percent to 40 000ha.

“We are targeting 100 000ha this summer cropping season. The distribution of the hectarage to be planted will be as follows: 60 000ha for maize crop and 40 000ha for traditional grains.

“In the last summer cropping season, we planted 80 000ha from which 60 000ha were for maize and 20 000ha were for traditional grains. We are also increasing the hectarage of traditional grains this season as a deliberate response to the Government’s call for farmers to increase the production of small grains, which are drought-tolerant crops,” he said.

This year, Zimbabwe and other Southern African countries experienced a devastating drought that saw most crops and pastures being declared write-offs while water sources were depleted.

Due to the drought, Zimbabwe produced only 744 271 tonnes last season while the country targets to increase grain production to 3,3 million tonnes this summer cropping season.

Overall production volumes of major crops are expected to increase by 347 percent from 914 848 tonnes to four million tonnes this summer cropping season.

Zimbabwe’s annual grain consumption is estimated at around 2,2 million tonnes of maize, sorghum, pearl millet and finger millet.

Zimbabwe also needs to maintain a minimum strategic grain reserve of 500 000 tonnes.

The 2024/2025 agricultural season has been forecasted to experience normal to above-normal rains, with some parts of the country already receiving the rains, marking the onset of the summer planting season.

Mr Craig would not be drawn into revealing the hectarage so far planted under irrigation from the targeted 60 000ha planned for maize this season as he did not have the figures off-hand.

“We are irrigating 60 000ha because with the rainy season, there is a time we get some dry spells and then sometimes they are prolonged.

“And if you experience a dry spell, say at most four-five weeks, you find the crop will still survive and continue growing when the rains resume.

“But there is a time a farmer is required to supplement with irrigation when there is a prolonged dry spell, so this is why, as ARDA, we are also utilising irrigation for the 60 000ha that we are targeting for maize,” he said.

Meanwhile, ARDA planted over 50 percent of this year’s winter wheat hectarage from which the country is targeting to harvest 600 000 tonnes against an annual requirement of 360 000 tonnes.

Statistics released by the Agricultural Marketing Authority, following its recent validation exercise, show that ARDA estates, irrigation schemes and joint venture initiatives accounted for 51 percent of all the planted wheat.

The ARDA establishments, with a cumulative figure of 1 047 growers, planted 60 405ha of the net figure of 119 594ha and AFC Holdings was in second spot with an area of 16 362ha from its 199 farmers while the Presidential Inputs Scheme was in third place after putting 10 541ha under crop, accounting for the highest number of growers at 7 999.

Other banks, millers, self-financed farmers and contractors accounted for the remaining 32 286ha (27 percent) from 1 597 cultivators.

Over the past two seasons, the country has produced 375 000 tonnes in 2022 and 467 905 tonnes last year, and it is believed the expected surplus of 240 000 tonnes will contribute towards the Strategic Grain Reserve, which presently stands at about 400 000 tonnes, to ensure food security in the country.