Zimbabwe: Arda puts over 14 000ha under summer crops, targets 50 000ha

Source: Arda puts over 14 000ha+ under summer crops, targets 50 000ha | Sunday News (Business) Judith Phiri, Business Reporter THE Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (Arda) has planted over 14 000 hectares of summer crops to date as it targets to reach 50 000 ha for the 2022/23 cropping season. In an interview, Arda chairman Mr Ivan Craig said for the summer crops their major focus was on maize, sorghum, sunflower and cotton. “We have planted 14 728ha of summer crops to date. We are arranging for alternative funding and our remaining plantings will largely be traditional grains and sunflower as the window for maize planting is slowly closing. “We are targeting to establish 50 000ha of summer crops with a major focus on maize, sorghum, sunflower and cotton,” he said. Arda, a parastatal under the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, is running a pilot of 42 irrigation schemes with some of the key ones in the Matabeleland, Manicaland, ...