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Edgar Vhera-Agriculture Specialist Writer

Various mechanisation schemes implemented by the Government since 2018 will see over US$600 million invested in scale-appropriate technologies by 2025.

Agricultural Engineering, Mechanisation, Farm Infrastructure Development and Soil Conservation chief director, Engineer Edwin Samuel Zimunga revealed this at the wheat-based food security conference recently hosted by Zimpapers and partners in Harare recently.

The Government-facilitated and private sector-led investments in agriculture will see more resources channelled towards the development of infrastructure to support agricultural production, value addition, marketing and trade.

“The country has 4,31 million hectares of arable land, with only 0,27 million hectares under irrigation. A total of 3,3 million hectares of land requires farm mechanisation after taking out one million hactares under animal and manual draft power,” Eng Zimunga said.

He  said Zimbabwe had three farmer categories requiring mechanisation with the following specifics for the common denominator (tractor), with smallholders taking 16-45HP tractors, medium/large-scale 45 to 120HP tractors, while the 75-300HP range is ascribed for conglomerate farms.

“Mechanisation is the key enabler for the winter wheat programme to accomplish the following seven key farming operations — land preparation and tillage, planting and sowing, chemigation and fertigation, irrigation and watering, harvesting, post-harvest processing and preservation and storage.

“The number of functional tractors rose 84 percent from 7 895 in 2019 to 14 500 as of the first quarter of 2024,. 

Statistics availed by Eng Zimunga revealed that US$613 million will be channelled into agriculture mechanisation from 2018 to 2025.

The Belarus facility had three phases, with Phase One valued at US$51 million providing tractors, chisel ploughs, row seed drills and combine harvesters.

Phase Two, worth US$52 million, brought tractors, disc harrows and combine harvesters, with Phase Three valued at US$169 million having tractors and combine harvesters.

The John Deere facility, with a value of US$51 million, had tractors, disc harrows, row mechanical planters, boom sprays and combine harvesters.

Local manufacturers provided disc harrows, ploughs, ridgers, boom sprays, tractor-driven threshers and grain dryers worth US$6 million.

The smallholder (Pfumvudza/Intwasa) mechanisation facility, valued at US$5 million, had two-wheel tractors, rippers, direct seeders, tractor engines, multi-crop threshers and transport trailers.

The US$20 million Bain New Holland facility comprises of tractors, ploughs, disc harrows and four row planters.

The Zunde Ramambo Village Storage Programme, valued at US$12 million, will provide silos. The Belarus Grain Marketing Board (GMB) grain silo modernisation and expansion facility, worth US$112 million, will provide automation, dryers, grading equipment and silos.

Lastly, the US$135 million ACFTA/BUHLER GMB modernisation and expansion facility will deliver automation, dryers, grading equipment and silos. 

The Government has set a national wheat target of 120 000 hectares, with the capacity to produce 600 000 tonnes at a conservative average yield of 5 tonnes per hectare, although high yields of over 10 tonnes per hectare are possible.

The country is witnessing changing consumption patterns, with the populace moving from being maize-centric to embrace wheat-based products like macaroni, pasta and spaghetti as well as rice.

Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development permanent secretary Professor Obert Jiri recently said: “Let us continue to build more locally produced wheat in our strategic grain reserves so that they outweigh that of maize after this winter season. 

“We need to increase on wheat value addition to lower the US$40 million spent per month on pasta, macaroni and rice imports.”

Private players like National Foods Limited have also invested in a US$5 million pasta plant to take advantage of locally produced wheat and produce pasta products so demanded by consumers. 

This will go a long way in import substitution and curtailing exports of local jobs.