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Edgar Vhera-Agriculture Specialist Writer
IN a rather disturbing development, the Cotton Company of Zimbabwe (Cottco) yesterday revealed that some farmers are yet to collect their 2023 payments amounting to US$323 642 despite disbursing them through mobile money platforms.
In its weekly update report for May 7, Cottco said the company had settled US$21 million in outstanding farmer payments with US$323 642 of that amount remaining uncollected despite several notices to farmers through mobile money platforms.
The payments were made through the Mukuru and Ecocash platforms.
“This delay in voucher redemption is a cause for concern especially in a difficult year like this one when farmers require financial resources to ensure food and nutrition security. Farmers are encouraged to visit business units (BU) or designated collection points promptly to access their hard-earned payments,” said the report.
The report said Cottco remained committed to ensuring transparency and efficiency in the payment process and encouraged farmers to actively engage with the company to access their payments without delay.
Masvingo province has the largest uncollected amount at US$82 978 for 892 farmers, followed by Mashonaland West on US$82 384 for 830 growers and Manicaland with US$53 392 for 633 farmers.
A total of 416 farmers from Mashonaland Central province have not collected US$42 512 while 578 growers from Midlands are also to collect US$32 872 and 116 growers from Mashonaland East still to get their US$15 329.
Lastly, 276 farmers in Matabeleland North province are also yet to collect US$14 175.
Cotton Council of Zimbabwe (CCOZ) chief executive officer, Engineer Chris Murove said the payment modalities instituted by Cottco were not commensurate with farmer settings.
“The modes of payment that Cottco has been using to pay growers have not been convenient for farmers and this has raised concern among various farmer representatives. Some of the cash outlets are too few and inaccessible for farmers who are deep in the rural areas,” the CCOZ boss said.
Eng Murove said the delay in payments made it difficult for the location of the bona fide beneficiaries.
“When cotton payments take over a year to be made, who is to know if the recipient farmer is still alive. Cottco must adopt payment modalities, which are flexible and convenient for farmers like those used by the Grain Marketing Board (GMB),” he added.
He pointed out that Cottco must pay farmers promptly upon taking delivery of the produce so that farmers enjoy the fruits of their labour while they are still alive.
Cottco’s trading update from September 1 last year to January 31 this year revealed that there was a 48 percent increase in seed cotton intake from 46 748 tonnes in 2022 to 69 419 in 2023.
The total country’s seed cotton output increased by 60 percent from 56 million kilogrammes in 2022 to 90 million last season but is projected to drop this year, as a result of the El Nino induced drought, which affected both hectarage and likely yield.
Plans are under way for all stakeholders in the cotton industry to conduct a validation exercise to determine the likely annual production, as price negotiations for this season’s crop take centre stage.
Online Reporter