daniel chigunwe
Edgar Vhera
Agriculture Specialist Writer
WITH distribution of cotton inputs for the 2023/24 cropping season set to begin shortly, Government has announced plans to give priority to those farmers who delivered their seed cotton during the 2023 cotton marketing season.
In a joint press statement yesterday, Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development permanent secretary Professor Obert Jiri and Cottco chief executive officer Mrs Priscilla Mutembwa advised stakeholders of the development.
“Farmers are advised that the 2023/24 Presidential Cotton Inputs distribution programme must prioritise farmers who delivered seed cotton during the 2023 cotton marketing season. Agritex, Agricultural Marketing Authority (AMA) and Cottco extension services will work jointly to identify farmers to be supported,” said the statement.
Coordinates of production units will be captured to allow Cottco and Agritex to inspect and assess crop establishment as part of the monitoring and evaluation of the use of inputs, continued the statement.
This comes on the backdrop of concerns by cotton stakeholders during the recent 2023 cotton indaba held in Harare that spreading of inadequate inputs to many beneficiaries was not helping improve production and productivity.
Cottco chief operating officer Mr Munyaradzi Chikasha said the number of farmers who claim to have planted cotton crop is exaggerated.
“In the last season, 372 000 farmers were contracted and given inputs to produce the crop but only 140 000 of them delivered seed cotton, a mere 37 percent. I don’t believe that over 200 000 farmers side marketed, as there is no crop on the market. Around 90 000 tonnes of seed cotton were marketed with Cottco purchasing about 67 000 tonnes, a 77 percent mark,” Mr Chikasha said.
He said many of the farmers who got the inputs did not use them for the intended purpose.
“This season we will support the cotton farmer fully and not spread inputs over many beneficiaries, as it did not help the farmers last season. If a farmer is given one bag of basal fertiliser as per the minimum input package and spreads this on a one-hectare plot that requires not less than 200 kilogrammes it will not help in increasing yield. We need to focus on cotton growers not people in cotton growing areas,” he said.
Cotton Research Institute head Mr Washington Mubvekeri queried the statistics released by AMA on the area planted as he felt it was inflated.
“Are you equating the area contracted to that planted? he asked AMA.
Mr Mubvekeri said AMA must ask for coordinates to find out the actual area planted as using the inflated figures distorted the national statistics and yield estimations.
Other stakeholders said many individuals who were receiving the free inputs were not putting them to the intended use something else or sold them.
Statistics from AMA show that seed cotton production has in recent seasons been below 100 000 tonnes per year despite Government and private sector funding increasing annually.
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