Cotton growers want US$1,60 per kg

Mukwe, said the Agriculture Marketing Authority was yet to approve the price of US$1,63 per kg.
He said the association was not convinced with the explanation AMA had been giving them and were going to seek Government’s intervention in solving the payment dispute.
“We are going to take the issue to Government, particularly the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development since the issue has left farmers hopeless. It is high time Government intervenes because ginners have taken the law into their own hands,” he said.
Cotton farmers are struggling to get their premiums of last year ahead of the new season, which was supposed to have started two weeks ago. The growers are likely to boycott this year’s season due to non-payment of their premium adjustments since 2010.
CPAZ chairperson, Mr Terrence Gondo, said there was no going back as holding onto the crop was the way to go.
“Growers are not accepting any companies to buy cotton before last year’s payment has been done. It’s an on going war between merchants and farmers since there was an agreement for farmers to be paid premiums after grading and this should be honoured. We agreed last year to have our stakeholders involved in the grading system but the ginners have not included them,” said Mr Gondo.