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By Jerry Chifamba
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Professor Obert Jiri, says the partnership between his ministry and Zesa is crucial for the continuous success of the agricultural sector.
Speaking during a recent press briefing, Jiri emphasised that despite facing challenges such as low water levels at the Kariba Dam, which resulted in only 5 percent power generation capacity, Zesa remained committed to prioritising the needs of farmers, particularly during the winter wheat growing season.
This success of the partnership is evidenced by the harvesting of 428 000 tonnes of wheat from nearly 90 000 hectares by October 30, 2024, surpassing the national requirement of 360 000 tonnes.
Professor Jiri said, “One of the things that we came to understand as farmers is that power generation was a key issue.
“Even when that generation was so low, Zesa would still prioritise farmers.”
This commitment to prioritising agricultural power needs has allowed farmers to utilise irrigation effectively, enabling them to cultivate large tracts of land even in adverse conditions.
The relationship between the ministry and Zesa, he said is characterised by regular meetings, enabling open communication channels where issues such as power outages and vandalism of equipment can be promptly addressed.
Professor Jiri expressed gratitude for Zesa’s responsive measures to faults reported by the farming community, even as they faced challenges like transformer vandalism and cable theft.
“We had numerous calls of transformer vandalism… but we would work together very well,” he remarked, underscoring the collaborative spirit in tackling these challenges.
Despite the intense load shedding faced by the residential public, the farming community experienced minimal outages, with Professor Jiri noting that farmers received “very little load shedding.”
He acknowledged that while this arrangement sometimes left households without power, it was a necessary sacrifice to ensure the food supply remained stable.
“I was happy because I knew where the power was. The power was being ring-fenced for the wheat farmers,” he added, illustrating the understanding that prioritising food production ultimately benefits the entire nation.
“Once we have enough food, we can always share the power cake equitably.”