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Elita Chikwati Agriculture Reporter
Government will continue setting floor prices for grains although farmers will be allowed to sell to private buyers at an agreed price, a Cabinet Minister has said.

Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Minister Dr Joseph Made on Wednesday said the Statutory Instrument setting the floor price had not been scrapped.

“The floor price remains, but a farmer can sell at any price to the miller or buyer by mutual consent,” he said.

“When Government buys grain for strategic grain reserves through the Grain Marketing Board, it will use the floor price approved by Cabinet.

“We need to be sensitive to the millers and contractors. There should be fairness. So, we cannot force them to sell using the floor price.”

Dr Made said most farmers would sell their grain to the GMB as Government was offering a better price to enable farmers to go back to the land.

He could not disclose this year’s producer price as it was yet to be approved by Cabinet.

Dr Made confirmed that the price would take into account the cost of production, import parity costs and the impact of drought.

Farmers want a producer price of $400 per tonne and cash upfront for their grain this marketing season.

Most farmers said they had been let down by GMB after it failed to pay them on time, compromising preparations for this season.