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Maize farmers want US$400/tonne |
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Friday, 05 April 2013 00:00 |
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 Farmers unions have submitted proposals to the Government to peg the producer price for maize this year at US$400 per tonne, up from the US$295 which the Grain Marketing Board is currently paying.
Private buyers are offering prices just above US$300 per tonne.
The grain marketing season begins on April 1 and the Government is yet to fix the producer price for this year.
Zimbabwe Farmers’ Union second vice president Mr Berean Mukwende said production costs had been increasing by high margins every year while the producer price remained stagnant.
“We have submitted a proposal to Government. We are looking at a price of US$400 per tonne to recoup production costs. That is our recommendation because generally that is also the landing price for imported maize,” he said.
Mr Mukwende said the producer price would protect farmers from unscrupulous grain buyers who often rip them off by offering very low prices.
Maize production has generally declined in the country due to droughts experienced in some parts of the country and also low producer prices which have driven some farmers to shift to other crops like tobacco.
Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers’ Union vice president Mr Johnson Mapira said the GMB should not pay less than US$400 per tonne to restore confidence among farmers.
Mr Mapira urged farmers to aim for higher yields per hectare in order to get more returns.
“We encourage farmers to aim for at least four tonnes of maize per hectare. It is even possible for farmers to get 10 tonnes per hectare and if we multiply it by US$400, it is a lot of money,” he said.
He urged farmers to deliver their grain to the GMB early to prevent it from deteriorating in quality mainly due to pests.
Zimbabwe requires 1 384 million tonnes of grain for human consumption and 350 000 tonnes for livestock and other uses.
This year the country is again facing maize shortages and will have to import with agriculture experts calling on the Government to rehabilitate and install irrigation infrastructure as well as provide incentives for producing the crop. - New Ziana. |
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Tobacco farmers rake in US$128m |
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Thursday, 04 April 2013 00:00 |
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 Elita Chikwati Agriculture Reporter
FARMERS have earned a collective U$160 million from the sale of 43 million kilogrammes since the opening of the tobacco selling season in February.
This is an increase of 25 percent from the US$128 million realised during the same period last year.
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Heavy rains expected from today |
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Wednesday, 03 April 2013 00:00 |
Agriculture Reporter
The Meteorological Services Department has warned of flash flooding, strong winds and possibly hail in some areas as the country is expected to receive heavy rainfall starting today.
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Insure assets, consult on contracts, ZFU tells farmers |
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Tuesday, 02 April 2013 00:00 |
The Zimbabwe Farmers Union has encouraged farmers to have their assets insured and also to consult farmers unions before signing contracts to avoid being duped.
The call comes after it emerged that some farmers were signing dubious contracts while others, particularly small scale, were not insuring their assets resulting in them losing out
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Price stagnation irks tobacco growers |
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Tuesday, 02 April 2013 00:00 |
Agriculture Reporter
Tobacco growers have expressed worry over the stagnation of prices which has seen the highest price failing to go beyond US$5 since the marketing season started in February.
The highest price has so far remained at US$4,99 at the auction floors while the contract floors have since recorded a high of US$5,70 per kilogramme.
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US$51m required for strategic grain |
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Monday, 01 April 2013 00:00 |
At least $51 million is required to recapitalise the country’s strategic grain reserve, information from the Agriculture, Mechanization and Irrigation Development Ministry indicates.
The strategic grain reserve is stocks of grain held in reserve intentionally by Government programs for the purpose of meeting future domestic and international needs.
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Long queues at auction floors |
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Thursday, 28 March 2013 00:00 |
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 Agriculture Reporter
Long queues have resurfaced at the tobacco auction floors as more farmers continue to deliver their crop ahead of the Easter holidays starting tomorrow.
All the three auction floors had long queues of delivery vehicles yesterday, while police officers were controlling the vehicles to maintain order.
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Irrigation hectarage falls |
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Tuesday, 26 March 2013 00:00 |
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 Business Correspondent
THE country’s irrigation farming is still in the doldrums amid revelations that only 135 000 hectares of land is under irrigation down from 250 000 ha in 2000, an official has said.
In an interview in Bulawayo on the sidelines of the Irrigation Policy consultative workshop, director for the Department of Irrigation Development, Dr Conrade Zawe, said land
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Saturday, 16 March 2013 00:00 |
Agriculture Reporter
Farmers have expressed concern over the wilting crops in most parts of the country as a result of a dry spell. Masvingo, Matabeleland North and South and some parts of Midlands are the hardest hit areas.
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Govt needs US$88,4m to fund wheat farming |
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Friday, 15 March 2013 00:00 |
Agriculture Reporter
Government requires US$88,4 million to fund the production of 40 000 hectares of wheat during the 2013 winter cropping season, Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Minister Joseph Made has said.
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TIMB brings sanity to auction floors |
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Friday, 15 March 2013 00:00 |
Agriculture Reporter
The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board has brought sanity and improved services for farmers at the auction floors, tobacco growers have confirmed.This has not been the case in the past seasons where the first days of auctioning were marked with congestion and farmers complaining of
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Thursday, 14 March 2013 00:00 |
Agriculture Reporter
MORE than 11 000 new communal farmers have shifted to tobacco due to favourable prices being offered on the market.
So far a total of 24 622 farmers have registered as tobacco growers for the first time with 11 030 of them coming from the communal sector.
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