Power Cuts Cripple Winter Wheat Farming
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The ongoing load shedding is negatively impacting winter wheat farming, with farmers having to write off parts of their fields as irrigable areas become limited.
Wheat farming in Zimbabwe relies on irrigation, which requires consistent electricity supplies, and with the current power cuts, farmers had to revise downwards projected yields.
Zimbabwe Federation of Farmers’ Union (ZFFU) president Wonder Chabikwa on Thursday said:
Winter wheat is a huge challenge in terms of power this season. We are getting electricity supplies for six hours a day, which is a terrible situation.
We had established in mind that with adequate power supplies we are going to get a 100 per cent yield.
Zimbabwe’s power plants are generating electricity below their installed capacity due to ageing equipment which constantly breaks down and low water levels at Kariba Dam.
The Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) revealed on Thursday that it was generating 874MW. This is against a peak national demand of 2 200MW.