Online Reporter
Obert Chifamba
Agri-Insight
IT seems transitioning into the marketing seasons for tobacco, maize, and cotton has in recent times been marked by perennial challenges, as farmers battle to ensure liquidity in an unpredictable market characterised by delayed payments in most cases.
Delayed payments have arguably been the farmers’ biggest undoing, as they not only disrupt cash flows but can also lead to a cascade of challenges, including increased debt and diminished bargaining power.
As farmers prepare to harvest their crops, expectations of timely payments are high, as they target to maintain their agricultural enterprises healthy. Timely payments will empower them to manage expenses effectively.
Late payments will obviously hinder their ability to reinvest in their operations, ultimately affecting crop quality and yield.
In a month’s time or so, the 2026 tobacco marketing season will be getting underway amid high expectations, as the country targets around 400 million kilogrammes of the golden leaf from the 164 536 hectares planted as of January 23, 2026.
This analysis seeks to outline the potential consequences of delayed financial transactions within these key agricultural markets. The cyclical nature of these industries inherently dictates a streamlined financial flow, where timely payments are essential. Late settlements can jeopardise farmers’ operational sustainability, hindering their ability to prepare adequately for future seasons.
It will not require rocket science for anyone to appreciate the fact that late payments for produce do not only threaten individual farmers’ livelihoods but can also destabilise entire market systems reliant on timely cash flows.
Farmers often rely on timely payments to cover operational costs, such as seeds, labour, and general maintenance. This effectively means that delays can jeopardise their productivity for upcoming seasons.
Early payments enable farmers to invest in necessary resources for the next planting cycle, improving their yield and overall agricultural productivity. This has not been happening in recent times with farmers threatening to withhold produce on countless times citing both delayed and unviable payments for the three crops – maize, tobacco and cotton.
Produce buyers have in most cases cited the delayed release of funds from their sources or financiers, which points towards preparations for the marketing season having been started late as well. Contractors and independent buyers that are licenced to buy produce need to start preparations way ahead of the marketing season so that farmers do not have to wait for them to start mobilising funding when they would have already delivered produce.
It is such situations that usually trigger unwanted practices like side-marketing given that farmers have many socio-economic obligations to take care of. Inevitably, this puts the farmers in a collision course with their contractors and other merchants because there will be legal issues to contend with.
It is refreshing to note that Government is leading by example and has since committed to clearing all outstanding arrears owed to farmers by the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) and will ensure future payments are made within one month of delivery, as part of a new economic blueprint launched recently.
This pledge is a central feature of the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2) – the Government’s economic plan running from 2026 to 2030, which was officially launched by President Mnangagwa late last year.
“To support the strategic grain reserve, prompt payments for maize deliveries to GMB will be given priority,” read the NDS2 document.
“In this regard, at the onset of NDS2, Government will clear all outstanding payments owed to farmers by the GMB and future deliveries under NDS2 will be paid within one month of delivery.”
This commitment is a sure demonstration of the need to give farmers their payments timeously to enable them to plan effectively for fresh seasons, attend to other pressing issues that require finances as well as develop better relations with buyers.
One sure thing about paying farmers promptly is that such an act fosters trust, encouraging them to prioritise contracts with buyers known for timely payments. This can lead to stronger relationships and better crop quality.
When farmers are assured of prompt payments, they are most likely to invest in better farming practices, aiming for high-quality crop produce. This will mean that they churn out high quality tobacco, cotton lint and maize motivated by the prompt payments.
Of course, prompt payments must be accompanied by viable prices. Farmers are business people who need to break even and remain with profits to fund other socio-economic concerns. This therefore means that they need to get their payments in time for them to make informed decisions on how to use them effectively.
In recent seasons, some farmers have gone for more than two seasons without receiving their payments – a development that has tended to incapacitate them when it comes to preparations for novel seasons. Government’s input programmes have in most cases come in handy and filled the gap but not to what farmers would have expected.
Most farmers want to produce free crops from their own funds so that they get the extra dollar to augment what would have come out from contract arrangements and government-led programmes.
Contractors and merchants who eventually come as buyers at the end of every season should not leave it until the last minute start mobilising funds to buy produce.
In fact, they should have all the funds expected to cater for their entire requirements and even have something set aside for contingencies. This idea of buyers claiming to have run out of funds or to be waiting for re-capitalisation mid-way through a marketing season is doing farmers a huge disservice.
One thing buyers should always bear in mind is that crop prices can fluctuate significantly based on supply and demand dynamics. This makes it prudent for them to be adequately prepared for the marketing season for them to capitalise on favourable market conditions.
It is also important for them to make some effort to understand market trends for them to plan purchases at optimal prices, reducing risks of price hikes during high demand periods.
On the one hand, buyers must appreciate the fact that sourcing crop produce efficiently as soon as it is available ensures a steady supply for merchants that also buy from them and prevents last-minute rushes that can lead to missed opportunities.
Naturally, preparing for the marketing season in advance allows for smoother logistical operations, including storage, transportation, and distribution. It also provides a platform for buyers to secure fresh contracts with farmers before other competitors, ensuring they have access to the necessary supply.
Merchants or contractors must always remember that consistently engaging with farmers can help them establish statuses of key players in the market, giving them leverage for negotiation.
