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Zimbabwe to double wheat output: Minister
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IANS | 16 Sep, 2020
Zimbabwe is expecting to harvest about 220,000 metric tonnes of winter
wheat this year, more than double last year's output due to increased
government support to farmers, lands, agriculture, water and rural
settlement, said Agriculture Minister Anxious Masuka on Wednesday.
He said harvesting and marketing of the wheat was officially opened on
September 10 by the Grain Marketing Board (GMB), the sole buyer of the
cereal.
"In terms of production, some 44,399 hectares were
planted. This is an 83.6 per cent increase in the area planted from the
24,186 ha planted in the 2019-2020 season. We expect 200,000 to 220,000
metric tonnes which will go a long way towards meeting the annual
national wheat requirement of 400,000 to 450,000 tonnes," the minister
said in a statement.
The country produced 60,000 tonnes of wheat last year, compared to 160,000 tons produced in 2018.
Masuka urged farmers not to side market government-funded wheat, and
warned unscrupulous buyers that those found on the wrong side of the law
will be severely punished.
He said government will adequately capacitate the GMB so that it pays farmers timeously.
The minister said going forward, there is need to augment the winter
wheat program with a vibrant summer program, through enhanced
participation of the private sector.
He said according to
government's agriculture recovery plan, at least 40 per cent of
agro-players such as grain processors, millers and stock feed
manufacturers must secure their agricultural raw materials locally
through value-chain financing.
"The benefits of this approach
are indeed multifarious, including foreign currency savings through
import substitution, employment generation, local farmer capacitation
and risk reduction," he said.
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| Customs Exchange Rates |
| Currency |
Import |
Export |
US Dollar
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66.20
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64.50 |
UK Pound
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87.50
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84.65 |
Euro
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78.25
|
75.65 |
| Japanese
Yen |
58.85 |
56.85 |
| As on 01 Oct, 2020 |
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