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High costs of agricultural inputs are affecting soya bean farmers who are failing to make profits from the cash crop as the producer price is far below the costs of production, an official said yesterday. Soya bean seed costs about $1 600 per tonne while the crop sells for $500 to 600 per tonne.

Fertilizer costs $800 per tonne.
Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union president Wonder Chabikwa said local soya bean farmers were buying inputs at high costs while buyers want to purchase the crop basing on international prices which are low.

“The producer price versus cost of production is too high and this has resulted in few farmers taking up soya beans farming because no one would like to invest in a crop that does not give profits,” he said.

“Farming is a business, when you invest certainly you will be looking forward to make profits, which is not the case with soya beans farming in Zimbabwe,” he added.

Mr Chabikwa said the worst part was that local buyers were comparing prices with those on the international market where costs of inputs were relatively low.

“What buyers are doing is very unfair because they want to take prices of international markets and apply them here of which our prices differ by a wide margin,” he said.

He said imports that were flooding the local market were also affecting local producer prices.
The imports come from Zambia, India and Brazil.

“Because of market liberalisation, our buyers are taking advantage to freeze prices as they can easily get soya beans at cheaper prices outside the country,” he said.

Soya bean production has declined to as little as 37 000 tonnes in 2010 from a peak of 170 000 tonnes in 2001 against a national requirement of 200 000 tonnes for production of stock feeds and cooking oil. Last year, farmers produced 70 000 tonnes, failing to reach a target of 115 000 tonnes.

Soya beans have multiple uses that include production of cooking oil, stock feeds and other edible foods. — New Ziana.