“Even when the weather is behaving as it is, we don’t panic much because our reserves can take us through while other interventions can be (employed),” Tafadzwa Musarara, chairman of the GMAZ, told the newspaper.

He said the Targeted Command Agriculture scheme, which was implemented at the start of the 2016-17 farming season and is aimed ensuring self-sufficiency, has greatly benefited the milling industry. The scheme targets farmers near bodies of water who could put a minimum of 200 hectares into maize production. Each of the 2,000 farmers who fit this criteria were required to produce at least 1,000 tonnes of maize per year.

“Since we started Command Agriculture, the first season we imported in excess of what we needed,” he said. “On the wheat side, the country produces close to 200,000 tonnes and that is the biggest wheat harvest this country has had since 1965. If we are to talk about the amount saved by this harvest, we are talking about close to $100 million in nostro money.”