Good times to roll again for Zim agric

Zimbabwe’s agriculture sector is forecast to register strong positive performance during
the 2022–2023 cropping season, backed by an anticipated above-average, says advisory
group IH Securities.

The country’s agriculture sector accounts for around 17 percent of the overall gross
domestic product (GDP).

It also provides 60 percent of the raw materials required by the industrial sector for its
manufacturing operations while it employs between 60 and 70 percent of the country’s
population.

For the months of October through December 2022, most of Zimbabwe is predicted to
experience normal to below-average rainfall, with the exception of the southern regions,
where normal to above-normal rains are anticipated.

According to the Meteorological Services Department, it is very likely that the entire
nation will get normal to above-average rainfall from November 2022 to January 2023
(NDJ).

For the months of December to February (DJF) and January to March (JFM) in 2023,
Zimbabwe’s western and southern regions are expected to experience above-average to
average rainfall, while the majority of the nation’s northern and eastern provinces are
forecast to experience normal to above-average precipitation.

Equities research and advisory firm, IH Securities, said in its latest Zimbabwe Agriculture
Sector report, that Zimbabwe uses mostly rain-fed agriculture hence its agricultural
economy was highly dependent on the weather patterns.
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“We anticipate the agriculture sector to register positive performance owing to
forecasted above-normal rainfall in the coming 2022/23 farming season,” it said.

The last season, 2021–2022, was characterised by sparse rains in certain regions of the
nation, and late-onset in others, and an irregularly distributed rainfall pattern both in
geography and time, which led to a reduced agriculture yield.

“While rainfall has been affecting agriculture production in the country, there seem to be
other factors as well considering maize yield per hectare for Zimbabwe is significantly
lower compared to peers within the same climatic region,” IH said.

Zimbabwe’s average national maize production is about 0,7 tonnes per hectare,
significantly less than the 1,8 tons per hectare average for the rest of Africa. Namibia,
Malawi, and Mozambique produce an average of 1,2t of maize per hectare, Tanzania
approximately 1,3t, Zambia about 2,5t, and South Africa about 5,3t.

“We believe the government will continue implementing initiatives that reduce the cost
of farming so as to encourage higher production,” stated IH Securities.
“Assuming this plays out, we forecast increased agriculture production and potentially
reduced cereal import bill,” it added.
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The Government has set a target to achieve a US$8,2 billion agriculture economy by 2025
as the sector has been buoyed by successful agricultural seasons.

President Mnangagwa in August 2020 launched the Agriculture and Food Systems
Transformation Strategy which seeks to achieve the targeted growth by 2025.
The strategy is a composite plan of action drawn from the Agriculture Recovery and
Livestock Growth Plans.

Before the onset of rains, the Government distributes seed and other agricultural
services through programmes such as Pfumvudza/Intwasa conservation scheme,
Presidential Input Scheme, National Enhanced Crop Productivity Scheme (known better
as Command Agriculture), more irrigation, Livestock Growth Plan and the farm
mechanization programme, which all contribute to the better harvests.-The Herald