By Freeman Makopa
Zimbabwe’s groundnut production is expected to take a drop this year from 622 69 to 22146 this year due to seed deficiencies and a decline in the number of farmers growing the crop an, official has said.
Paul Mapfumo a Lecturer in Soil Fertility and Applied Ecology and Sustainable Natural Resource Management at the University of Zimbabwe said the low production in groundnuts was due to a number of reasons which includes unsustained market.
“The productivity is low and markets cannot be sustained on local production and we have been importing groundnuts from neighboring Malawi,”
“Farmers lack adequate market information on desired varieties, and are also not organised to market their crops as groups to enhance their negotiating power for better marketing deals”.
“There is also need to stimulate small scale processors as some of the varieties grown by farmers are not good enough for processing”.
“Processors would require small-seeded groundnuts like Natal Common for better quality peanut butter, but most farmers have large seeded groundnuts varieties like Ilanda, Nyanda, Plover, Valencia, Makulu Red which have been circulating among farmers for decades and as a result yield little besides not in demand by processors.”
Mapfumo also cited other reasons for the poor performance of the crop.
“Lack of credit facilities is also limiting the production of legumes in the country. Some crops are produced under an input-credit facility, there is need to find financiers who will bankroll the production of these crops because this will ease the marketing problem of the groundnuts and at the same time promote the production of the desirable varieties for the processing industry.”
Mapfumo said yields from groundnuts are generally low, producing about 500 kilograms per hectare in rural communities of Zimbabwe and this is attributed to shortage in numbers of farmers embarking in groundnuts production.
“Not many growers have embarked in groundnut production and those who are in, still depend on their own recycled seeds but there is need for supply of treated groundnut seeds”.
Mapfumo says that Zimbabwe needs to adopt a more integrated approach to producing and selling groundnuts and this includes standardizing seed varieties, creating a uniform marketing strategy and providing better fumigation services for farmers to increase yields and improve crop quality.
He added that the crop is not grown on commercial scale in Zimbabwe but there are more small scale farmers growing the crop for family consumption and most farmers grow varieties that are not good enough for processing hence the need to stimulate small scale processors.
Mapfumo said farmers should also be on the lookout for aphids and other grain eating pests as these contributes immensely to the decline in production.
Zimbabwe’s small rural farmers are responsible for producing about 75% of the groundnuts and they use mainly Spanish cultivars that are grown in light soils.
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