adminAgriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Deputy Minister Seiso Moyo told Business Chronicle that his ministry was in consultation with other stakeholders to establish the new producer price of maize.
In the previous marketing season, Government increased maize producer price from $275 a tonne to $285 per tonne.
The farmers expressed discontent over the increase saying it was not viable for them to return to the field as each farmer used $910 to produce one hectare.
They expected the producer price to range between $300 and $390 a tonne.
“The consultations have begun and as a ministry we are still consulting different stakeholders before announcing the new producer price of maize in the next few weeks,” said Deputy Minister Moyo.
The producer price negotiations involved stakeholders such as the Ministry of Finance and farmer organisations.
“I cannot precisely give the exact date on when the new price will be announced because at the moment we are still in consultations and the process is a multi-sectoral.
“However, we hope that in the next few weeks, the consultations will be complete and you will be advised on the new producer price,” he said.
The Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers’ Union president Mr Donald Khumalo said his organisation’s lobby team was in discussions with Government over this year’s maize producer price.
“The ZCFU lobby team is involved in the negotiation process and we have come up with a scale for the proposed price,” he said.
Repeated efforts to get a comment from the Zimbabwe Farmers’ Union executive director Mr Paul Zakariya were fruitless as his mobile number was not reachable.
Treasury has not paid the Grain Marketing Board $5,7 million outstanding for grain deliveries to the parastatal by the farmers in the 2011/12 marketing season.
Zimbabwe requires 500 000 tonnes of maize annually and in the last marketing season GMB had slightly above 250 000 tonnes for national strategic grain reserves.
Online Reporter