President Mugabe is today expected to launch a food and nutrition security policy and implementation plan, yet another gesture exhibiting his commitment to ensure no one starves as a result of drought that ravaged some parts of the country. Most parts of the country are in urgent need offood aid as the Head of State and Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces has also engaged the Zambian government to import 150 000 tonnes of maize from that country.

Vice-President Joice Mujuru, who is the chairperson of the National Taskforce on Food and Security, yesterday revealed that President Mugabe would launch the policy when she invited all Parliamentarians to grace the occasion. VP Mujuru would present the policy document while Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Minister Joseph Made and his Health and Child Welfare counterpart, Dr Henry Madzorera, would give solidarity messages.

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THE current farming season has seen a significant number of farmers diverting from traditional crops such as maize to venture into soyabean production and other small grains which are fetching lucrative prices on the market despite being capital intensive.

Zimbabwe Farmers’ Union vice president Mr Berean Mukwende pointed out that a lot of farmers have turned to soyabeans from maize and cotton due to a number of factors.

These include the rainfall patterns received in a region, the high selling prices being offered compared to cotton for example, which fetched a low US$0,35 per kg last marketing season after initially having been pegged at US$1,50 per kg and the payment method after crop delivery which is spontaneous when selling soyabeans.

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MORE Zimbabwean farmers have taken up tobacco growing in the current season, as the golden leaf promises to fetch high prices on the international markets.

Leading US-based farming publication, the Tobacco Farmer Newsletter (TFN), recently noted a likely improvement in tobacco prices in 2013 as a result of various market factors, including a deficit caused by poor to mediocre quality of flue-cured tobacco in Brazil and the US in the previous two successive seasons.

“Also, it may be that Brazil has hit a ceiling on the amount of flavour-style flue-cured it can produce. If so, then increased demand for flavour-style flue-cured will have to be met with increased production in the US and Zimbabwe,” said TFN, adding tobacco buyers also indicated optimism for the flue-cured market beyond the 2012 crop and were actively seeking ways to retain current growers and increase production.

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Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai plans to roll-out the drip irrigation maize project countrywide to promote rural development.

The drip irrigation project he launched last year at his Humanikwa Village in Buhera late last year has shown that with more Government focus, rural transformation can change communities.

The pilot project seeks to demonstrate a link between a smallholder farmer, technology, and agriculture and food security.

The crop, planted in October last year is now ready for harvesting. The PM expects to harvest about 15 tonnes per hectare and if land was set aside in the 1 958 wards total yield could go a long way to alleviate Zimbabwe’s annual maize requirements.

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GOVERNMENT will this year conduct a farm productivity survey aimed at identifying areas in which farmers need assistance, a Cabinet Minister has said. Lands, Land Reform and Resettlement Minister Herbert Murerwa said Government had set up a budget to conduct the exercise.

The programme is expected to enhance productivity on the land.

“We want our farmers to be assisted so that they fully utilise the land. The survey my ministry will carry out will determine how farmers can be assisted,” he said. He said Government had noted with concern the low land utilisation across the country.

This, he said, had also seen some resettled farmers leasing their properties to white commercial farmers who lost their farms during the Government’s land redistribution programme.

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