Zimpapers Logo

Zvamaida Murwira Senior Reporter
The Cotton Company of Zimbabwe (Cottco) has urged Government to reinstate its monopoly on cotton marketing to ensure its viability and combat side-marketing.

In an interview recently, Cottco managing director Mr Pious Manamike said the liberalisation of the market had seen several companies surfacing during cotton marketing to buy the crop from contracted farmers by offering higher producer prices.

He said Cottco was providing farmers with inputs worth millions of dollars every year and paying for agricultural extension services for cotton farmers but was failing to collect all the produce from the farmers because of side marketing.

“De-regulation of the industry by the Government was good because it brought about competition but it also brought with it viability challenges for us in the form of side-marketing.

“Indeed we are not afraid of competition but the playing field is not even when some companies just sprout during harvesting period and reap where they did not sow,” said Mr Manamike.

He said the current challenge of side-marketing could only be addressed by reinstating the monopoly, which Cottco used to enjoy before the turn of the millennium.

“Everything should be situational. Nothing should be strait-jacket. A good example is that of National Railways of Zimbabwe, you cannot have several companies providing railway services, it is the Government that should do that hence we have that monopoly. Certain challenges can only be addressed by a monopoly,” he said.

“If a company provides inputs on credit and if there is a monopoly, those unscrupulous farmers have nowhere to sell their produce. But with the advent of several buying firms, these farmers can sell their cotton to these fly by night firms who would have not incurred any costs in providing inputs and extension services.”

He said another alternative was for all buying firms to pool resources to contract farmers and only those who would have made a contribution would buy the product.

Mr Manamike implored the Agricultural Marketing Authority to ensure fairness among cotton marketing companies.

“We need to have common database on people who would have been contracted and that information should be furnished to us at the commencement of the season. AMA should have a software to flush out double contracting. We want an accurate database that reflects the reality,” said Mr Manamike.

The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Agriculture Rural and Resettlement chaired by Gokwe Nembudziya MP Cde Justice Mayor Wadyajena recently toured Cottco depots to have an appreciation of the firm’s operations.