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Conrad Mupesa–Mashonaland West Bureau
While Cottco has its own small group of specialised cotton extension officers, the far larger pool of Agritex officers, at least three in each ward, will be adding cotton to the many crops they advise their farmers on how to grow.
Cottco has 195 extension officers attending to 300 000 communal cotton farmers throughout the country, but these farmers can also approach Agritex officers.
Speaking to stakeholders at Kadoma Cottco Ginnery during a workshop on process flow for lint production, Cottco acting chief executive officer Mr Munyaradzi Chikasha said the extension officers were supposed to provide agronomic knowledge to farmers across the nation.
“Our officers are overwhelmed and we implore the extension officers of the Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Ministry to also provide knowledge and guidance to our farmers for the projected high-yield production to be achieved,” said Mr Chikasha.
Provincial Agritex officer, Mrs Evelyn Ndoro, assured the availability of extension officers from her ministry.
“Our officers are at the disposal of every farmer across the province,” he said. “They are not selective of crops, hence we expect them to be active in the cotton crop production.”
Agritex has at least three extension officers in each rural ward, a figure that will help address the deficit faced by Cottco. Zimbabwe is expecting 47 000 tonnes of seed cotton from farmers this year, with most farmers planting late and were affected by low temperatures recorded this winter, with the open pollinated varieties failing to split balls on time.
Turning to lint production, Mr Chikasha said Cottco had enough to meet the demand of spinners and weavers, “but the challenge is the request by the spinners to pay in local currency yet we have to cover forex costs”.
He said Cottco would procure 170 tonnes of hybridised Mahyco seed from India, with 24 tonnes having been procured already to boost production and complement the Presidential Cotton Inputs Scheme.
“Cottco is currently involved in talks with financial institutions to access loans for the sole purpose of importing the seed,” said Mr Chikasha. “We applied for a US$2,1 million loan from the CBZ.”
Cottco’s projects manager and financial controller, Mr Nevermind Jonga, said the shift to hybridised seed would increase output five-fold.
Trials have shown that hybrid seeds, which are usually short-term varieties, can produce at least 3 500kg per hectare, representing a significant increase from the 700kg of open pollinated varieties.
A farmer, Mr Never Guya from Chakari, lauded the stakeholders’ meeting, which he said helped clear the air between Cottco and farmers.
The meeting was attended by officials from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and selected farmers from the Sanyati district.
Online Reporter