adminFreedom Mutanda
HARD on the heels of a bumper harvest for farmers in the south eastern part of the country, they are hamstrung by a lack of markets for their precious commodity, with buyers reportedly shying away from taking the crop and hoping to finally buy it for a song. Bwerudza Irrigation Scheme and Stage 3A farmers have to content with staring at their achievement, but still the buyers are not trickling in.
When The Manica Post visited Stage 3A recently, virtually at every house there were bags of beans ready for sale, but the gripes coming from the tillers of the land show that they are not happy with the prevailing pricing regime.
Mr Blessing Ruwata, spokesperson for the farmers at Middle Save Stage 3A who has been farming since he was young as his father was the first owner of the 10-hectare piece of land, is worried sick about the price which he says is not good for farming as it leaves them worse off.
‘’Look, as farmers, we have overheads and the moment we can’t break even. The whole aspect of profitable farming is rendered useless.
“Our average yield per hectare was 1,5 tonnes this year. So far, we have realised 60 tonnes of beans and expect a similar tonnage from the crop still to be harvested. Personally, I have harvested two and a half tonnes of beans, but the prices offered by the buyers-80c per kg-are slave prices.
“One can’t farm again in the next farming season. We therefore, appeal to boarding schools and other buyers to come and buy the produce for us to have a win-win situation with them. When we cry out like this, we are saying the food cluster under Zim-Asset has been implemented successfully in our part of the world,’’ he added with much emphasis on the feeding the nation aspect.
Many farmers are unable to send their children to school when schools open next week owing to failure to market their crop.
One observer, Mr Rekerai Tiriwokufa, a sociologist, said it was time farmers employ a marketing manager.
That way, they are assured of a market for their produce, be it beans, tomatoes, green mealies or any other crop for that matter.
‘’Agri-business demands innovation. Thinking out of the box is no longer an option. Traditional buyers normally want to pay ridiculously low prices.
“Middlemen wish to pay 80c for a kilogramme of beans, while it is expected to sell $2 a kg. The producer does not benefit much in such a scenario.
“However, with a marketing executive in place, s/he will look for the best deal possible. Moreover, it is incumbent upon government to capacitate the Grain Marketing
Board for it to buy farmers’ beans at a competitive price so that they are motivated to grow beans in the next beans season,’’ Mr Rekerayi Tiriwokufa said.
Ten kilometres from Tanganda along the Tanganda-Chiredzi Highway is an irrigation scheme, Bwerudza Irrigation Scheme that has gone a long way in alleviating food insecurity in the surrounding areas. Now, the farmers are complaining about the price put forward by buyers who are out to make a killing as the school are set to open next week on Tuesday.
“They are aware that farmers who have children at school are in a Catch -22 situation.
A well- known farmer at Bwerudza Irrigation Scheme, Mr John Thandaanguni, is aware of the buyers’ manipulation of prices and believes that farmers must speak with one voice and resist selling the crop at a cheap price.
‘’Buyers know we are desperate for the elusive dollar. Accordingly, they hold out until we crack and accept the measly sums.
“I know we cannot hold on for long what with the looming fees crisis next week. Some of us have children at boarding schools and the authorities there want their pound of flesh.
“Definitely, we are between a rock and a hard place. It’s time for farmers to market their crops aggressively or seek contract farming companies such as seed companies where there is guaranteed payment. We need to enjoy the fruit of our sweat,’’ lamented Mr Thandaanguni.
Efforts to get a comment from traditional buyers such as Victoria Foods, Jasbro and National Foods were unsuccessful at the time of going to Press.
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