daniel chigunwe
Precious Manomano and Ivan Zhakata
Herald Reporters
THE 2024 cotton marketing season has started, with contractors who failed to pay farmers last season not licensed to buy this year’s crop.
The contractors have also been ordered to pay grade differential prices for the last season before they can acquire licences this year.
Bales will not be removed from the common buying point unless they have been fully paid for in terms of the minimum price.
Eight contractors are registered to buy the crop this season.
These are Alliance Ginneries, Agri-Value Chain, Cottco, Innovation Cotton, New Cotton Company, ShawashAgri, Southern Cotton Company of Zimbabwe and Zimbabwe Cotton Consortium.
About 40 000 tonnes of cotton is expected this season, less than half of the 90 000 tonnes produced last season. This follows the El Nino-induced drought which affected most of the crop this season.
Speaking during the launch of the 2024 seed cotton marketing season, Agricultural Marketing Authority (AMA) chief executive officer Mr Clever Isaya said all buyers should purchase from their contracted farmers.
“Merchants will not be allowed to buy seed cotton once they have finished paying farmers for deliveries made in the last season, and when all grade differential prices have been made.
“For this marketing season, AMA will be implementing a quota system based on the level of support which each contractor provided during the current season. No contractor shall be allowed to buy outside their quota, save for self-financed crop.”
Mr Isaya urged contractors to deploy the most appropriate payment channels in rural areas, adding that farmers should access their payments within a radius of 5 km from the common buying point.
The minimum seed cotton price for Grade A is US$0,43/kg, Grade B US$0,39/kg, Grade C US$0,36/kg and Grade D US$0,32/kg.
These prices have been agreed on after taking into consideration costs of production and international lint prices.
Payment to farmers shall be 75 percent in foreign currency and 25 percent in ZiG currency.
Cotton Producers and Marketers Association chairman, Mr Stewart Mubonderi, said this season they expected farmers to be paid on time unlike the previous years.
“Farmers throughout the country are ready to market the crop. We are more than ready and the cotton has been picked,” he said.
Cotton Ginners Association president Mr Jonasi Chindanya said this year there was a low supply of cotton, adding that it would affect local value addition such as ginning, spinning, weaving, oil seed, manufacturing of feeds and edible oils.
Cotton is a major source of income for rural communities in these areas and the crop is usually grown under contract farming arrangements.
Cotton is grown in four main regions of the country that are hot and receive rainfall of between 400mm and 600mm per annum.
Major growing areas are Gokwe, Muzarabani, Mahuwe, Mushumbi, Checheche, Mwenezi, Chiredzi and Binga in the Zambezi Valley.
Cotton farmers have been lamenting the non-payment and delays in the payment of cotton.
The farmers said they were ready to sell the white gold but they were worried that they were not going to get their money on time as was the case in the previous season.
Cotton Council of Zimbabwe chief executive officer Engineer Chris Murove said farmers who planted early got better yields than those who planted much later because cotton is a drought tolerant crop.
“The other issue has been the non-payment to farmers, we still have outstanding amounts owed by contractors which they have promised to pay.”
Peter Tanyanyiwa
Online Reporter