Zimbabwe's Winter Wheat Harvest Reaches a Record High of 671,000 Tonnes

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On November 8, Zimbabwe's The Herald cited the latest weekly winter wheat harvest report from the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, stating that as of November 4, the country's cumulative 2026 winter wheat harvest reached 670,981 tonnes, surpassing the previous record high of approximately 640,000 tonnes set in 2025. A total of 127,518 hectares of wheat had been harvested nationwide, accounting for about 98% of the actual planted area, with an average yield of 5.3 tonnes per hectare. The winter wheat harvest is now in its final stage.

According to statistics from the agriculture department, Zimbabwe's actual winter wheat planted area in 2026 was 130,316 hectares, with a cumulative harvested area of 127,518 hectares and approximately 2,798 hectares remaining. Obert Jiri, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, said that harvesting progress in most provinces had exceeded 99%. About 2,000 hectares remained to be harvested in Mashonaland West Province, with a small number of unharvested plots located in irrigation farming areas in Masvingo Province and Matabeleland South and North Provinces.

Provincial production data showed that Mashonaland West Province had harvested 217,285 tonnes, ranking first in the country; Mashonaland Central Province harvested 143,235 tonnes, and Mashonaland East Province harvested 131,892 tonnes. The three provinces combined harvested 492,412 tonnes, accounting for about 73.4% of the national cumulative harvest.

According to the grain reserve arrangements announced by Zimbabwe's agriculture department, the government plans to increase the national strategic grain reserve to 450,000 tonnes by the end of December 2026, and further to 600,000 tonnes by October 2027. The agriculture department will prioritize ensuring the supply of raw materials to domestic flour milling enterprises, and wheat remaining after meeting domestic consumption and strategic reserve needs may be supplied to livestock and poultry feed production enterprises.

Shadreck Makombe, President of the Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union, said that during the 2026 winter wheat production season, irrigation water, electricity supply, and agricultural machinery support had improved, and the supply of tractors and combine harvesters supported this season's harvesting operations. The Agricultural and Rural Development Authority, through contract farming arrangements, provided agricultural inputs and production support to participating farmers.