Online Reporter
Nqobile Bhebhe, Zimpapers Business Hub
Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Minister, Dr Anxious Masuka, said Government is committed to rooting out the scourge of cotton side marketing, describing it as a “cancer” that nearly collapsed the sector in 2015.
Side marketing is a form of contract default where contracted farmers sell their cotton to third parties in breach of the contractual agreement, which states that seed cotton shall only be sold to or bought by the contractor who provided inputs to farmers.
The practice almost collapsed the cotton industry in 2015 after private merchants stopped financing farmers due to poor debt recovery.
In 2014, output dropped to 28 000 tonnes, the lowest in nearly two decades.
The Government intervened by providing farmers with free inputs under the scheme known as the Presidential Free Inputs programme.
The 2025 marketing season officially opened on June 9 and so far, approximately 311 000 kilogrammes of cotton have been sold to seven contractors.
Zimbabwe’s cotton industry, often referred to as the “white gold” of rural communities, plays a pivotal role in the livelihoods of over 400 000 smallholder farmers, particularly in semi-arid regions where few other cash crops can thrive.
Beyond household incomes, the crop feeds into the textile, oil processing and stockfeed industries, forming a vital value chain that supports employment and industrial growth.
Speaking at a post-Cabinet briefing on Tuesday, Dr Masuka said the Government had adopted a deliberate strategy to regulate the sector for growth, with a sharp focus on financial inclusivity and increased transparency.
“As was previously said by Government, cotton, is an important agent for rural transformation and the attainment of the President’s vision of a prosperous upper middle income society.”
“Cotton is a national strategic crop, and its importance cannot be overemphasised. It is a key driver of rural industrialisation and transformation, and a critical pillar in Zimbabwe’s agricultural economy,” Dr Masuka said.
He said regulation through the Agricultural Marketing Authority (AMA) was not intended to stifle operations, but to create a structured environment that promotes the sector’s development.
“So, it is in this way that when we do regulate the cotton sector through the Agricultural Marketing Authority, we regulate the sector for growth. So, that’s critical, the transformation to regulating for growth. And in regulating for growth, there must be financial inclusivity.”
To this end, AMA has rolled out over 600 common buying points, strategically located to ensure farmers can sell their produce efficiently, transparently and competitively.
“It is in this context that AMA has established over 600 buying points. We call them common buying points because all the services are provided by AMA,” said the Minister.
“To regulate for growth, you carefully select these sites, you bring everyone, the seven contractors, to one place.
“You entice various platforms that are able to provide electronic payment to farmers so that there is competition, hopefully, because transaction costs come down and everyone is included.”
However, Dr Masuka was stern in his warning against side marketing, which he blamed for the near-collapse of the cotton industry in previous years.
“But side marketing is a cancer. In the 2015 season, this almost collapsed the cotton sector and the Government is trying to re-establish confidence within the cotton contracting system by eliminating side marketing,” he said.
Dr Masuka stressed that side marketing was not only perpetrated by small-scale farmers, but also by companies themselves.
“So, wherever this occurs and at whatever level, we must ensure that this is eliminated. It’s not just by growers. The tendency has been that a grower with one or two bales might be responsible for the side marketing.
“We actually have seen intracompany and intercompany side marketing.”
Calling for collective vigilance, Dr Masuka urged all stakeholders to report any cases of side marketing, to ensure swift investigations and corrective measures.
