Harare, (New Ziana) -The Zimbabwe government is in the process of procuring 80 combine harvesters from Belarus, bringing the total number of the machines to around 400 against a national demand of 600, a senior official has said.

Deputy director in the Department of Agriculture Engineering, Mechanisation and Farm Infrastructure Development Harrison Bhasikoro said this in an interview with New Ziana on the harvesting preparedness for the summer cropping season.

He said the country is expecting a bumper harvest and the government wants to ensure a seamless harvesting process for farmers across the country.

“Obviously the country is expecting a bumper harvest, so in as far as taking out the crop from the fields, that is harvesting of the crop, I think also as a country we are prepared to do that, especially when we are looking at combine harvesting services,” he said, adding that currently the country has 313 combine harvesters.

Bhasikoro said with each combine able to harvest at least 10 hectares per day, their capacity to harvest the 2024/25 summer crop will be around 4 000 hectares per day.

“So if we consider a 150-day harvesting, then our minimum capacity will be close to 700 000 hectares. So as a country we are prepared in as far as combine harvester services is concerned. “

It’s not like all farmers will request combine harvester services, but also some farmers will do shelling and thrashing, so from the study that we carried out, as a country we are also prepared in as far as thrashing and shelling services are concerned,” he said.

He said the country has enough equipment both from the government and private players to provide thrashing and shelling services. He encouraged farmers who have not arranged for harvesting services to approach their offices either at provincial or district level and register.

The government is also working closely with Agriculture Finance Leasing Company as well as the Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (ARDA) and other private entities to assist during the harvesting period, he said.

“So in a nutshell we are saying we are, as a country, prepared to harvest all the crop on time so that also for those who want to switch from summer to winter wheat, also we are putting arrangements on the ground so that we can actually remove the summer crop so that they can quickly switch to winter cropping,” he said.

Bhasikoro said the government is working to achieve the national requirement for combine harvesters of 600 by the end of next year.

New Ziana