June 16, 2004

Zimbabwe Corn Production Below One Million Tons

Zimbabwe’s 2003/04 corn production is estimated at 900,000 metric tons, down 350,000 tons from last month but up 100,000 tons from last year's 2002/03 crop.  Harvested area is estimated at 1.3 million hectares, down 100,000 hectares from last year.  The decline in planted area is attributed to shortages of seeds at the time of planting and a severe dry spell during November and early December which destroyed many first plantings.  The fast track resettlement program has also reduced harvested area for the large-scale commercial sector from an estimated 162,000 hectares in 1999/00 to 5,000 hectares this year (see graph below).  Correspondingly, corn production for large-scale commercial sector, which accounted for approximately 40 percent of the country’s total corn output in 1999/00, is forecast to produce only only three percent of the country’s corn output for 2003/04.

Corn yield at the national-level is estimated at 0.7 tons/hectare, below the five-year average of 0.9 tons/hectares, because seasonal rainfall was below average in the eastern grain basket (see figure below) and planted area was significantly reduced in the high-yielding large-scale commercial farms.  Other factors which reduced corn yields this year were attributed to the high cost of fertilizers, low-quality seeds, new farmers in transition between their old homes and newly acquired land, and shortage of equipment to cultivate fields on newly acquired land.   

Seasonal rainfall for Zimbabwe was below average in a large portion of Zimbabwe’s breadbasket, which comprises of the three Mashonaland provinces (see figure below).  In addition, seasonal rainfall distribution was unfavorable for most of the country, with good onset of rains in October followed by a long dry spell during November and early December that destroyed many early planted crops.  However, the later part of the agricultural season greatly improved due to favorable rains from January to April.  

Winter Wheat Crop

Zimbabwe has two crop seasons for grains, summer and winter.  The main growing season is summer and corresponds to the rain season that usually starts in October-November and ends in April-May.  The principal summer grains are corn, sorghum, and millet, but rainfed wheat may also be grown.  The main winter crops, wheat and barley, are planted in April-May and harvested in September, and are typically irrigated on large-scale commercial farms.  Wheat production this year is expected to be below the five-year average largely because the land redistribution program has greatly affected the irrigation capacity of the large-scale commercial farms which previously produced 95 percent of the wheat crop.  USDA estimated the wheat area for the 2003/04 crop at 30,000 hectares, and the current 2004/05 wheat crop was recently planted.  FAS-Pretoria should provide a wheat area estimate for the 2004/05 wheat crop within the next month.   

Other FAS Links

Annual Grains report (June 2003) from FAS-Pretoria attaché

PSD On-line

Seasonal Rainfall for 2003/04

Monthly Rainfall for 2003/04

Decrease in Large-scale Commercial Corn Area

Farming Sector Estimates from 1998/99 to 2003/04

Agro-climatic zones for Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe Crop Calendar

For more information, contact Curt Reynolds
with the Production Estimates and Crop Assessment Division, at Curt.Reynolds@fas.usda.gov or (202) 690-0134.