FARMERS SHUN WHEAT

Little wheat will be grown in Zimbabwe this year unless the Government provides funds.
With only less than three weeks to the wheat planting deadline of May 15 in the Lowveld and May 25 in other areas, most farmers who had been willing to produce the crop have

started panicking since there has not been any announcement of a funding facility. Irrigated wheat grown in Zimbabwe can be more expensive than imported wheat so local production requires Government intervention.

Most farmers said even if the funding is availed it would be too late to grow the crop and realise meaningful profits. Zimbabwe Farmers Union second vice president, Mr Berean Mukwende said most wheat farmers were pinning their hopes on the Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe, which had shown an interest in funding wheat production but has changed heart.

Mr Mukwende attacked the millers for withdrawing the funding facility at the eleventh hour and said this has worsened the situation.

http://www.herald.co.zw/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=76307:farmers-shun-wheat&catid=47:agriculture&Itemid=139#.UX4q_koR3IU

RAINS SPOIL TOBACCO

Some tobacco farmers incurred heavy losses after their crop was affected by the recent rains during transportation to the auction floors in Harare. The affected farmers said this had resulted in their crop

being rejected at the floors for being too wet.
Wedza farmer Mr Tawanda Chisvo said his crop fetched low prices as the quality had been compromised by the rains.

“The problem is that some of the transporters do not have proper tents that can adequately protect the bales from the rains. That some of the bales will be rejected during sales means I will have to stay for a longer period at the auction floors waiting to re-bale and sell the tobacco,” he said.

Chiweshe farmer, Mrs Mariana Chaipa said instead of drying the crop and repacking herself, it was better to sell the affected tobacco on the parallel market and go back home.

“We negotiate on the price considering the price that would have been offered by licenced buyers in the first place. For instance, if I was supposed to get US$170 from my bale I can sell it at US$100 than for me to stay longer,” she said.

Some contracted growers at the Zimbabwe Leaf Tobacco said the rains had made life hard for them as they had to spend about two days stuck in the long queues.

http://www.herald.co.zw/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=75825:rains-spoil-tobacco&catid=47:agriculture&Itemid=139#.UX4oSkoR3IU

Vic Falls Rainforest the natural wonder

 






















NATURE’S exhaustless generosity bestowed upon Zimbabwe, Victoria Falls, in its grand totality whose
 grandeur and splendour defines tourist attraction beyond mere tourism magazine hyperbole. The Victoria Falls are among the most spectacular waterfalls in the world and are undoubtedly the best
tourist attraction in Zimbabwe.

They are also one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the world and the only one found in Southern Africa.
Very few destinations in Africa, and indeed the world over can offer the tourist visual delight like the Victoria Falls. The Zambezi River plunges noisily down a series of basalt gorges that are more than 2km wide at this point and raises an iridescent mist that can be seen from more than 20km away.

A series of immense cataracts where 500 000 cubic litres of water plunge — per minute — thunderously over about 1 700 metres wide cliff edge during the peak period, is a rare spectacle. Very, very, rare indeed.
It is certainly the cash cow of Zimbabwe tourism and all and sundry should understand why suddenly it has become the cynosure of the world as it prepares to co-host the United Nations World Tourism Organisation 2013 General Assembly with Livingstone in Zambia.

There is no doubt that the UNWTO family will enjoy everything including aerial excursions courtesy of the Flight of the Angels, river rides in boats, elephant rides and, of course, the Zambezi sunset cruise.
Every discerning tourist — the world over — wishes to visit the Victoria Falls. Victoria Falls National Park is umbilically attached to Zambezi National Park, upstream. The two are inseparable.
The resultant spewing mist from the gorges nurture a rainforest, a vast swathe of exquisite beauty, where ferns, sycamore figs, ebony, mahogany and palm trees flourish.
A well-manicured path meanders through the rainforest giving a view of the falls and effectively juxtaposing it with the forests, for the discerning eye.
It is fact not fiction that preservation of the rainforest is achieved to a large extend through managing activities that would impact on the flow regime of the Zambezi River system.
Management practices that would make the rainforest more resilient to current variability in climate change have not, therefore, been restricted to only the rainforest and meant an integrated approach, rather than managing the rainforest as an island.
The rainforest as part of Victoria Falls National Park should be viewed as a bigger ecosystem that cannot be managed as a discrete unit without triggering a slow but sure process of degradation.
The area was designated a national park after 1975 despite having being designated a national monument in 1972.
This was after the realisation that the rainforest is one of the only two forests in Zimbabwe with high biodiversity status species and habitats that were poorly represented in other parts of the country and face the greatest threats in terms of replacement and vulnerability.
The level of importance of the ecosystem of the Victoria Falls rainforest requires specialised conservation skill

Maize farmers want US$400/tonne

Farmers unions have submitted proposals to the Government to peg the producer price for maize this year at US$400 per tonne, up from the US$295 which the Grain Marketing Board is currently paying.
Private buyers are offering prices just above US$300 per tonne.
The grain marketing season begins on April 1 and the Government is yet to fix the producer price for this year.
Zimbabwe Farmers’ Union second vice president Mr Berean Mukwende said production costs had been increasing by high margins every year while the producer price remained stagnant.
“We have submitted a proposal to Government. We are looking at a price of US$400 per tonne to recoup production costs. That is our recommendation because generally that is also the landing price for imported maize,” he said.
Mr Mukwende said the producer price would protect farmers from unscrupulous grain buyers who often rip them off by offering very low prices.
Maize production has generally declined in the country due to droughts experienced in some parts of the country and also low producer prices which have driven some farmers to shift to other crops like tobacco.
Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers’ Union vice president Mr Johnson Mapira said the GMB should not pay less than US$400 per tonne to restore confidence among farmers.
Mr Mapira urged farmers to aim for higher yields per hectare in order to get more returns.
“We encourage farmers to aim for at least four tonnes of maize per hectare. It is even possible for farmers to get 10 tonnes per hectare and if we multiply it by US$400, it is a lot of money,” he said.
He urged farmers to deliver their grain to the GMB early to prevent it from deteriorating in quality mainly due to pests.
Zimbabwe requires 1 384 million tonnes of grain for human consumption and 350 000 tonnes for livestock and other uses.
This year the country is again facing maize shortages and will have to import with agriculture experts calling on the Government to rehabilitate and install irrigation infrastructure as well as provide incentives for producing the crop. - New Ziana.http://www.herald.co.zw/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=73083:maize-farmers-want-us400tonne&catid=47:agriculture&Itemid=139#.UWKEMDcR3IU

Tobacco farmers rake in US$128m

FARMERS have earned a collective U$160 million from the sale of 43 million kilogrammes since the opening of the tobacco selling season in February.
This is an increase of 25 percent from the US$128 million realised during the same period last year.
The latest Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board statistics show that the weekly throughput recorded 11,1 million kg with a weekly averageprice of US$3,85 per kg.
Contractors raked in 6,5 million kg averaging US$3,91 per kg with the remainder being sold at an average price of US$3,77 per kg.
According to TIMB, sales to date have risen to 42,8 million kg at an average price of US$3,74 per kg.
During the same period last year seasonal sales were 34,5 million kg averaging US$3,71 per kg.
The Tobacco Sales Floor is the auction floors having sold 6,1 million kg worth US$23,1 million.
Boka Tobacco Floors sold the second highest amount of tobacco with 6 million kg having gone under the hammer while Premier Tobacco Floors sold 4,6 million kg worth US$16 million.
So far a total of 600 799 bales have been laid at both auction and contract floors with 561 429 sold.
A total of 32 404 were rejected for various reasons such as being too wet, mouldy or of mixed hands.
To date, about 82 833 growers have registered for 2013 season compared to about 58 801 who had registered by the same period last year.
Small-scale farmers are dominating as they constitute more than 80 percent of the registered growers.
There are 35 755 A1 registered growers, 32 966 communal, 7 843 small-scale and 6 278 A2 farmers.
The growth in the number of tobacco growers has been attributed to the increase in the number of farmers due to the land reform and the attractive prices being offered by buyers.
The attractive prices has seen 30 percent of traditional cotton growers shifting to tobacco during this season.
A total of 170 million kilogrammes are expected to be sold this season as the country moves towards regaining the status as one of the top tobacco producers in the world.http://www.herald.co.zw/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=72937:tobacco-farmers-rake-in-us128m&catid=47:agriculture&Itemid=139#.UWKCtjcR3IU

HEAVY RAINS EXPECTED FROM TODAY

The Meteorological Services Department has warned of flash flooding, strong winds and possibly hail in some areas as the country is expected to receive heavy rainfall starting today.
The rains are expected to cover the whole country by tomorrow.
MSD acting deputy director operations, Mr Reynold Ndoro yesterday said a cloud system was expected to move into the country today starting from the southern districts; Bulawayo, Matabeleland South and Masvingo.
“The southern districts should receive heavy falls in excess of 50mm in 24 hours. On Thursday rainfall should increase to cover the whole country with heavy falls in some areas.
“From Friday, the rains are expected to decline to remain confined over the Harare and Mashonaland provinces,” he said.
Mr Ndoro said there was a high risk of flash flooding, strong winds and hail in some areas during this period.
“The Meteorological Services Department encourages the public to take the necessary measures to safeguard life and property in those areas that will be affected.” “Last month heavy rains associated with strong winds destroyed property especially cars that were parked under trees.
Roads were damaged while some areas went for days without electricity due to the destruction caused by those rains. The 2012/13 rainfall season was delayed forcing many farmers to plant late.http://www.herald.co.zw/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=72869:heavy-rains-expected-from-today&catid=47:agriculture&Itemid=139#.UVvlQjcR3IU

Plant early, winter wheat farmers urged

The Zimbabwe Farmers Union (ZFU) has urged farmers intending to plant winter wheat this year to make preparations early in order to maximise production.

The winter wheat planting season has already begun and the ZFU says farmers should be making land preparations and securing working capital to avoid late planting.

Winter wheat planting over recent years has been disorganised due to funding constraints and power shortages.

ZFU Second Vice President, Berean Mukwende said funding remains the major challenge to winter wheat planting as most farmers are still harvesting and have no working capital.

“Funds are a bit tricky so far as one or two companies are promising to contract farmers, which is quite a major concern. Policy makers and the general public might wonder why funding is a perennial problem but this is because some farmers planted soya beans and are still harvesting so they do not have funds. Even some that sold tobacco have not finished selling so right now they cannot buy inputs. It is different from summer cropping where farmers plant in November after having sold their crops in around March and April,” said Mukwende.     

Winter wheat cropping is dependant on timing and farmers can maximise yields by planting as early as February but the last date for irrigating the crop falls on the 15th of May.

Last year, 4 000 hectares were put under wheat production against the targeted 50 000 hectares.

Payments by the Grain Marketing Board to majority of farmers who delivered their wheat are however expected to improve production.  

ZIMBABWEAN GOVERNMENT ON ENVIRONMENT

 
                                                                                          Government has applauded environmental organisations for working in partnerships to achieve sustainable development.Officiating at the Environment Africa’s 20th annual general meeting, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Management secretary Ms Florence Nhekairo said individual effort did not yield the same results.

“This is evident in Environment Africa’s approach of establishing and supporting Private Public Community Partnerships.
“The main focus in this approach is the involvement of communities that have often been left on the periphery of development initiatives,” she said.
Ms Nhekairo said partnerships were incomplete without the communities and development was incomplete if communities continued to be sidelined.
She said Environment Africa was complementing Government’s efforts of reforestation.
“The Ministry supports the “For Every Child, A Tree Campaign” as it seeks to bring awareness on the importance of trees to the young generations who are the leaders of tomorrow.
“I believe such initiatives are the way forward in addressing our environmental concerns as these affect us all and will have a negative impact on generations to come,” she said.
http://www.herald.co.zw/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=72109:environmentalist-lauded&catid=38:local-news&Itemid=131#.UVmBxTcR3IU