Sundaymail Editor
Word from the Market With AMA
The seed cotton marketing season officially opened on the 13th of June 2022. The price for the Presidential Input Programme (PIP) was announced by the Government. There shall be a dual payment system whereby producers under the PIP shall receive US0,30c and $32.50 per kg of seed cotton delivered. Traditionally, the issue of side-marketing has hogged the marketing of seed cotton and there are growing calls from all stakeholders to nip the scourge in the bud.
Seed cotton is mainly a contracted crop whereby private players enter into production contracts with farmers in an arrangement where the former provides inputs and technical extension support services to the farmers who will in turn sell the produce to the contractor. The value of the support services will be deducted from the proceeds of the sale. In simple terms, side marketing occurs when farmers bypass the contractor or contractor purchases produce from farmers contracted by another contractor. In this column, AMA has previously emphasised and reiterates that discipline is the hallmark of successful agricultural marketing. This season, stringent measures have been adopted to protect both the interests of the contractors and farmers thus stimulating further investment into the sector and ultimately improving productivity and profitability. This is the essence of the Government’ thrust evidenced by the National Development Strategy 1 economic blue print which underpins the attainment of Vision 2030.
It has been observed that some of the major challenges bedeviling the seed cotton value chain include but are not limited to delayed payment of farmers, general indiscipline and lack of deterrent penalties. AMA is charged with the statutory responsibility to regulate the participation in the production, buying or processing of agricultural products including seed cotton. AMA is further mandated to determine terms and conditions for the participation of the various value chain players such as contractors, buyers/processors and farmers likewise.
The specific regulations governing the cotton sector are the Agricultural Marketing Authority (Seed Cotton and Seed Cotton Products) Regulations, 2009 (SI 142 of 2009) as amended by SI 63 of 2011. The regulations provide a framework upon which seed cotton shall be produced, marketed and processed for export. The regulations are currently under review to strengthen the operational framework with a view to contain the identified problems in the sector. Suffice it to state that AMA has set in motion plans for full compliance with the regulations and will descend heavily on errant behaviour.
A raft of measures has thus been put in place by AMA at each node of the marketing cycle. As a starting point, an official launch of the cotton marketing season was held on the 24th of June 2022 in Gokwe where the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development, Honourabe Dr. A.J Masuka was the Guest of Honour. Contractors, farmers and all stakeholders attended this event where the Honourable Minister spelt out the Government expectations in terms of orderly marketing of seed cotton.
Every contractor shall subscribe to a Memorandum of Understanding pledging among other aspects the following;
discipline and orderly marketing of seed cotton
buying seed cotton from approved Common Buying Points (CBPs) only
keeping of daily registers and forwarding returns to AMA
compensation to aggrieved contractor where side marketing occurs restricted use of own seed cotton packs
The grower database has been validated by AMA and shall be exclusively used at all Common Buying Points. AMA has already inducted and deployed inspectors at the CBPs. The inspectors shall verify farmer registration statuses and ensure that all the prescribed processes are being implemented. Individual farmer deliveries shall be checked against the database and likewise contractor buying statistics, on a daily basis comparable to the respective market share. The law enforcement agencies have also been activated to ensure that all seed cotton purchased outside the set parameters is immediately confiscated. The movement of all purchased seed cotton by contractors from CBP’s to ginneries shall be through certification by AMA and dispatches at the ginneries shall be tracked as well.
AMA shall also publish, name, shame and blacklist all offenders. Over and above all, criminal sanctions as prescribed by the regulations shall be invoked as a way to deter would be offenders. The need to avoid side marketing cannot therefore be over emphasised.
This article was written by Peter Mudzimiri, AMA Head of Compliance. Word from the market is a weekly column produced by the Agricultural Marketing Authority. Feedback [email protected] or [email protected]
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