By Desire Tshuma
Bindura – Mashonaland Central Province has surpassed its winter wheat target and is expecting a bumper harvest, with early yields already above projection.
Provincial Director in the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Mechanisation Services in Mashonaland Central, Mr. Misheck Chitokomere, said this on October 1 2026 during a field assessment at Pemento Farm, Plot 24 in Bindura District. The farm assessment was part of a Wheat Field Day hosted by Zadzamatura.
The farm is owned by Mr. Julius Mutonda and managed by Mr. Wallace Nhevera, who leads a team of 16 workers.
“Today we are in Bindura District at Pemento Farm where we are witnessing a wheat crop which was planted on the 1st of May, which is the proper planting window for the wheat crop. No wonder you can see that it is a very healthy crop where we are expecting a yield of about 7 tonnes per hectare in about 10 days time,” Chitokomere said.
He said as a province, Mashonaland Central had targeted 25,000 hectares for winter wheat but managed to surpass the target, achieving 25,755 hectares.
“Basically we are saying well done to our farmers in Bindura, well done to our farmers in Mazowe District. Those are our major wheat growing districts, of course followed by Shamva, and to another extent Guruve, Mount Darwin and Mbire. But the bulk of our wheat crop is in Bindura and Mazowe,” he said.
Senior Agronomist at Zadzamatura, Mr. Blessing Hatidane, who hosted the Wheat Field Day, hailed farmers in Bindura for their commitment to best agronomic practices.
“As Zadzamatura we are proud to host this Wheat Field Day here at Pemento Farm. What we are seeing in Bindura is exceptional agronomy. Farmers adhered to the planting window, variety selection and fertilizer application, and the results are there for all to see. This is the standard we want to see across the country,” Hatidane said.
Farm owner Mr. Julius Mutonda said the success of the crop was due to strict adherence to agronomic advice and Government support.
“We are very happy with the crop you are seeing here. We followed the planting window, we got inputs on time through the Government programmes, and we had good technical support from Agritex. We are expecting a very good harvest and this shows that farming as a business is paying,” Mutonda said.
Farm manager Mr. Wallace Nhevera said his team of 16 workers was ready for harvesting.
“As a team, we are proud of this field. It is clean, healthy and uniform. We planted on the 1st of May and we managed the crop well from day one. We are now preparing to start harvesting in the next 10 days and we are confident of reaching 7 tonnes per hectare,” Nhevera said.
Chitokomere said Government is driving towards wheat-based food security.
“Once we meet our targets like that, we are also aiming to meet our targets in terms of yield. Threshing has actually started. As of now, 800 hectares of wheat has been harvested across the province, and the average yield so far is 5.5 tonnes per hectare. Our target was 5 tonnes, so it means we are already above what we targeted to achieve,” he said.
The Provincial Director urged farmers to expedite harvesting following recent rains received in some parts of the province.
“What we are actually recommending our farmers now to do is to prepare for harvesting because so far we have received showers in places like Muzarabani. We want our farmers to expedite harvesting so that their crop is not affected by the rain. So far some projects have recorded rainfall of 33 millimetres, some 52 millimetres. But fortunately for us here in Bindura we have not seen any rain. The clouds are threatening, but I urge all those farmers who are ready to rush to their fields,” he said.