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Michael Tome

Business Reporter

Government should timeously mobilise funds to pay farmers who produce strategic crops to ensure their long-term viability, farmer organisations have said.

This comes on the back of an already promising 2022-23 season as most parts of the country continue receiving good rains, with several farmers becoming more optimistic.

Strategic crops, or controlled commodities include maize, cotton, sorghum, wheat, and barley. Apart from cotton, other commodities are purchased by the State-owned Grain Marketing Board except for crop financed under private contract schemes.

The Cotton Company of Zimbabwe (Cottco) buys cotton financed under the Presidential Free Cotton Inputs Scheme. The Government sets prices for all strategic crops.

With farmers becoming more optimistic about a good season, they have implored the Government to start mobilising funds to ensure they are paid on time.

Last season, wheat farmers who had winter crop had to wait longer before being paid.

Farmers are concerned recurring delays in payments will end up discouraging them.

In an interview, Zimbabwe Farmers Union (ZFU) director Mr Paul Zakariya said the ongoing cropping season had “performed satisfactorily” to date, but bemoaned late payments of produce experienced after delivery to the GMB.

“Preparations for the marketing season should not wait until the season begins; they need to start mobilisation of the resources now so that farmers can be paid on time and enable  farmers to enjoy the true value of their sweat.

“So between now and the time the marketing season begins; that is around May and June, they should be ready to receive deliveries from farmers. By being ready we mean they should have mobilised enough financial resources to buy the produce from the farmers so that payments are not delayed,” said Mr Zakariya.

Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union (ZCFU) president, Dr Shadreck Makombe lauded the recently announced producer prices saying they were attractive but implored the Government to improve on payment timelines.

“…we urge GMB and the Government to back their funding for farmers because there is always a problem that money comes late. And by the time you are given the money, prices of inputs will already be so high which is detrimental to operations,” he said.

Pre-planting producer price for maize and traditional grains for the 2022/23 season was pegged at US$335 per tonne while soya bean price was set at US$597 per tonne.

The price for a tonne of sunflower was set at US$687,23 per tonne, which is 15 percent above the soya bean price. Soyabean, cotton and sunflower are critical inputs in the production of edible oils. The price for grade D cotton was pegged at US$0,40 per kg; US$0,41 per for grade C; US$0,43 for grade B and US$0,46 for grade A.

The prices were determined after considering the import parity prices of the commodities.