Zimbabwe will be processing more than half its cooking oil this year from local seed, with the hectarage of oil seed crops more than doubling from 200 000 hectares to 423 142 ha.
This expansion is expected to considerably elevate cooking oil production and reduce reliance on crude vegetable oil imports and improve local production, focusing on key oil seed crops such as soyabean, groundnuts, sunflower and cotton.
The Government has set an ambitious target of producing over 97 million litres of cooking oil from this season's crops although the total requirement is 180 million litres.
Zimbabwe depends heavily on imported crude soybean oil for refinement into cooking oil, highlighting the critical need for enhanced local production.
According to the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, and Rural Development, 40 103 ha of soyabean have been planted, achieving 55 percent of the target of 77 000 ha.
Leading regions include Manicaland at 103 percent, Matabeleland North at 77 percent, and Midlands at 72 percent.
For cotton, 122 493 ha have been planted against a target of 270 000 ha, with Manicaland leading at 80 percent of the crop planted, followed by Mashonaland Central at 65 percent.
Groundnuts have seen 221 118 ha planted, representing 57 percent of the target of 385 000 ha, with Manicaland and Harare achieving 94 percent of their targets.
Sunflower has 39 428 ha planted out of a target of 160 000 ha, accounting for just 25 percent of the goal.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
The statistics reflect the Government's commitment to increasing domestic oil seed production, which is crucial for reducing reliance on imports and enhancing food security.
The increase in hectarage is a response to challenges posed by erratic oil seed production in recent years, primarily due to recurrent droughts. While cotton and sunflower have shown resilience, the Government recognises the necessity of stabilising and increasing domestic oil seed production to ensure food and oil security.
Permanent Secretary for Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, and Rural Development, Professor Obert Jiri, highlighted the importance of local production.
"We are really focused on feed security as well as oil seed security, and we encourage farmers to produce these crops so that the country saves foreign currency," he said.
His remarks underscore the Government's commitment to boosting agricultural productivity and reducing reliance on foreign imports.
The production plan for this season will not only emphasise oilseeds but also include food and feed crops, reinforcing the dual objective of enhancing self-sufficiency and supporting local consumption and export.
This comprehensive approach seeks to create a more resilient agricultural sector capable of meeting the nation's needs.
The Government's initiative to double the hectarage of oil seed crops marks a pivotal moment in Zimbabwe's agricultural landscape.
