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In interviews, the farmers said they opted to grow cotton ahead of the staple maize crop, hoping to use the cash realised from selling their cotton to buy maize.
They, however, said they were not prepared to dispose of their cotton crop at the “ridiculous low price” of 35 cents per kg offered by cotton buying companies. Some of them even threatened to turn their cotton into stock feed, if the buyers remained steadfast in their decision.
When a Chronicle news team toured Nemangwe’s CMB area on Friday, all the cotton buying companies’ depots like Cottco, Grafax and Olam were closed. Their premises looked deserted.
Mrs Shylet Chinava of Ganye area under Chief Nemangwe said cotton buying companies were out to destroy them and treating farmers as fools.
She said the companies were advancing their selfish interests by limiting their focus on the inputs they availed to farmers and ignoring the fact that cotton farming was labour intensive.
“How do they expect us to survive as farmers on 35 cents per kg?
“There is more to cotton growing than just collecting seed and chemicals from these cotton buying companies. Cotton demands more time, inputs and attention compared to most crops. I would rather keep my cotton and risk losing it to dangers like fire instead of selling at such a ridiculously low price.
“We purchased inputs like chemicals and cotton seed from these companies at high prices.
“Their charges for inputs are just exorbitant yet they want to pay us ridiculous amounts and still expect us to pay for their inputs. It’s a painful decision that we are taking but we have no choice,” she said.
Mrs Chinava said her family had hopes that the cotton crop would sustain them until the next harvest only to be disappointed by the buyers’ stance.
She said most families were struggling to raise cash to buy maize, as most of their land was under the cotton crop.
“We at times engage in barter trade to make ends meet. We need maize for our mealie-meal and this demands cash which we don’t have. I am expecting about 21 bales of cotton from my fields but these won’t help us if we sell at the offered price of 35 cents per kilogramme. Most of us feel it’s not necessary to sell as it won’t make any difference in our lives,” said Mrs Chinava.
Cotton farmers throughout the country were holding on to their crop fighting the low prices being offered by buyers.
Companies offered to buy the white gold at $0,35 while the farmers want the companies to either match or better last year’s price of $0,85.
The farmers said they were aware that their stance could have some boomerang effects, if the impasse is not broken soon.
Farmers said the value of the cotton crop could depreciate if the crop is exposed to rain and other weather elements.
Mr Covers Sibanda of Bhejane area, under Chief Njelele (formerly Chief Jahana’s area), said the farmers were in the process of building sheds in a bid to minimise possible damage to the crop.
“We are aware of the assortment of dangers that come with keeping cotton bales at our homesteads or fields.
“At the moment we are building sheds to protect our crop from the sun as the heat has an effect of reducing the cotton’s weight. Reduced weight results in the cotton fetching less money since weight plays a role in determining the price. Granted, the buyers give us inputs, but they are expensive.
“So they have to pay the right price if they want us to repay the inputs loans,” he said.
His colleague, Mr Gibson Ndlovu, said farmers were hamstrung in their preparations for the forthcoming season.
He cited the issue of cotton seed as a major challenge, since it was only available at cotton companies like Olam and Cottco.
“The problem is cotton seed is only available at these companies and one cannot get it from shops. These companies do not want us to buy chemicals and fertiliser from shops. They want us to get a complete package from them by using cotton seed as bait. This is what makes their inputs expensive,” he said.
Mr Edward Mapesu of Hamamuti Village near Nemangwe’s CMB Township gave a graphic presentation of the farmers’ plight.
He said what pained most villagers was the price war coming at a time when most of them had grown the crop on a larger scale.
He said farmers like him had plans to pay fees and finish off paying lobola to their in-laws, after cashing their cheques.
“This is no longer possible. I am expecting to harvest five bales as a young farmer but I won’t be selling. If I sell a bale at 30 cents per kg I will get $60 yet those who sold a bale last season were getting $250. What can one do with $60? We intend to pay fees, buy groceries and inputs as well as finish paying lobola to our in-laws and one cannot do that with $60,” he said.
Chief Njelele said he was prepared to give his 28 bales of cotton to his cattle, if buyers refuse to revise their prices upwards.
He said the cotton buying companies were not sincere in their reasons for wanting to pay less to farmers.
“They are telling us that lint price has gone down on the world market. But we get a lot of by-products from cotton. We get laundry soap, bathing soap, cooking oil and stock feed, among other by-products.
“If a bottle of cooking oil from cotton lint is going for $2, how then do the companies explain their plans to pay a farmer 30 cents for a kg of cotton?
“Fortunately for some of us, we also had a good harvest of maize and I won’t hesitate to give my bales to my cattle if I get no joy from the cotton buying companies,” he said.
Online Reporter