By Flata Kavinga
Government says adequate electricity has been set aside for winter wheat production this season, amid efforts to ensure farmers achieve the national target of 125 000 hectares under wheat.
Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the Midlands Province Winter Wheat Pre-planting Seminar at DCK Farm in Kwekwe, the Minister of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Water Resources Development Dr Anxious Masuka, said power supply arrangements had been made in coordination with the Ministry of Energy and Power Development.
“We require 150 megawatts. The Minister of Energy and Power Development, Minister July Moyo, had generously given us 125 megawatts that had already been ring-fenced,” said Dr Masuka.
He said improved water levels at Kariba Dam and increased power generation at Hwange Thermal Power Station would help stabilise electricity supplies during the winter cropping season.
“There’s heightened inflow into Kariba at 40 percent live water compared to 10 percent last year and Hwange 7 and 8 are producing at the maximum of 614 megawatts a day,” he said.
Dr Masuka said Government had established a coordination platform involving officials from the agriculture and energy sectors to respond quickly to electricity challenges affecting farmers.
“We have a coordination platform with the Ministry of Energy and Power Development. We also have energy and wheat clusters in the wheat-growing belts and we have a WhatsApp group that’s very active,” he said.
He said farmers experiencing prolonged power outages were encouraged to report them through the established communication channels.
“If any farmer goes for more than two hours without power, they must activate that WhatsApp so that they can ascertain whether it’s a fault or not,” said Dr Masuka.
