Online Reporter
Agriculture News Editor
Government has urged farmers to refrain from selling their grain to unscrupulous buyers offering instant cash at unviable prices.
Reports indicate that some private buyers are taking advantage of desperate farmers and buying maize at giveaway prices.
Some farmers, particularly those with smaller volumes of grain who cannot transport their harvests to distant GMB depots, are resorting to selling maize to private buyers at unviable prices.
Responding to questions from legislators in Parliament on Wednesday, Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, and Rural Development Minister Dr Anxious Masuka emphasised the importance of evaluating the prices offered before making any sales.
“GMB gazetted prices for maize, millet, sorghum and other small grains at US$376 per tonne, but paying 70 percent in US dollars and 30 percent in local currency.
“So, we urge farmers to check prices before they sell their crops so that they profit from their labour.
“We heard in Mashonaland West, they have already gone there and are offering US$300 dollars per tonne.
“We told the people to stop selling to these unscrupulous buyers and wait for GMB to tell them which depots to use,” he said.
Minister Masuka said during the harvest period, GMB collection points are increased to make it easy for farmers to deliver their grain.
“There are other places, however, where GMB may not have a depot, but there are places where people used to collect social welfare food and presidential inputs in each ward.
“These will be used as the collection points,” he said.
He said GMB would go to the collection points and buy the grain.
“If GMB was able to come to those points and distribute the inputs, they also can come and buy from those points.
“What is needed is a mobile collection centre, which means GMB does not have to stay in those areas because there is not much to be collected on a daily basis like in other areas.
“So, people choose a date and agree with GMB to come and collect,” he said.
On the issue of who should sell grain to the GMB, Minister Masuka said self-financed farmers were free to sell to any buyer while those contracted were expected to honour the agreements.
“There are those(farmers) who receive assistance under the Presidential Inputs Scheme (PIS). Moreover, others receive assistance through banks, which include CBZ and AFC.
“Some get assistance through the Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (ARDA) and others from private contractors.
“The last group is individuals who buy seeds using their own finances.
This one is classified under self-finance.
“Government has a policy that says someone who financed you is the first one to be prioritised.
“It clearly shows that those who are farming under self-finance sell to whoever they want. They are going to sell it to GMB as a last resort,” he said.
He, however, said the farmers were free to sell to GMB if they failed to get a lucrative market.
Minister Masuka said they were working closely with the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion to ensure farmers are paid timeously.
“On Monday, we agreed with Honourable Professor Mthuli Ncube and we had managed to pay off last year’s credits in United States Dollars. We are left with a few credits in local currency.
“We expect that this year we are going to pay farmers timeously,” he said.
The country is expecting 2 293 556 tonnes of maize and 634 tonnes of traditional grains from the 2024/25 summer cropping season.
