dyton mupawaenda
Edgar Vhera-Agriculture Specialist Writer
GOVERNMENT has announced new marketing rules for crops being harvested in a move that promotes competitive pricing for the benefit of farmers.
Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Minister Dr Anxious Masuka said the marketing system would be adopted to deal with the five farmer categories: Smallholder farmers in the climate-proofed Presidential Input Scheme known as Pfumvudza/Intwasa, self-financed farmers, private contractor financed farmers, those financed by the Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (Arda), and those in the National Enhanced Agriculture Productivity Scheme (NEAPS) financed by Agriculture Finance Corporation (AFC), Commercial Bank of Zimbabwe (CBZ) and NMB.
The Grain Marketing Board has set its incentive producer prices for maize, traditional grains, soya beans and sunflower but these are only for crops delivered there.
Those on Pfumvudza/Intwasa must deliver to the GMB since their inputs were provided by the Government.
But for the other four categories, the GMB is the buyer of last resort, fulfilling the Government guarantee that any crop grown can be sold.
This means market prices have to either meet or exceed the GMB price.
Minister Masuka said all contractors, including the Food Crop Contractors Association (FCCA), CBZ, AFC and NMB were obliged to buy contracted crops at market prices.
He reiterated that self-financed farmers would sell to the best advantage on the market or to GMB, with the latter providing commercial warehouse receipt services to all who deliver there.
“The Zimbabwe Mercantile Exchange (ZMX) will provide a central warehouse receipt system and a spot market trading platform for agricultural commodities,” the Minister said.
The GMB last month announced the summer producer and winter wheat incentive planning prices.
Maize and traditional grains will be bought at US$376,48 per tonne, with soyabean on US$580/tonne and sunflower at US$668,98/tonne.
The winter wheat incentive planning price has been set at US$451,35/tonne.
Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union (ZCFU) president, Dr Shadreck Makombe said at the moment these guaranteed minimum prices were good but they ought to be reviewed upwards with time, as the economy appears to be volatile.
“At the time of the announcement, the prices are fair on comparative terms with other markets in the region, but as time lapses there might be need for an upward review.
“The production costs are continually increasing as a result of rising input prices,” he said.
Zimbabwe National Farmers Union (ZNFU) president, Mrs Monica Chinamasa, lamented the high input prices, which cause producer prices to be unviable.
“As a result of the ever-increasing cost of production, the prices end up on the lower side compared to those offered last season.
“We also need advice on the time payments will be made after deliveries,” she added.
An agriculture expert, Dr Reneth Mano, commended the Government’s new policy in which the GMB will not be a major market player but only buys limited stocks for a scaled-down strategic grain reserve stockpile of specific staple food grains.
“Furthermore, it has tightened the categories of farmers it targets to buy grains from. There is an apparent positive and very deliberate policy move to deepen the liberalised free competitive domestic grains and oilseeds marketing system,” he said.
One such agricultural policy thrust has seen the strengthening of ZMX warehouse receipt system and ZMX daily spot auction market for grains and oilseeds.
Dr Mano said presently Zimbabwe had the highest grain producer prices in the region and the permanent solution was for Government to enact domestic policies that effectively work towards reducing domestic agricultural costs of production, the prices of fertiliser, fuel and bulk water, as well as high interest rates on farm input loans, to match those of the region.
ZMX is expected to become the central agricultural commodity marketing institution where large and small-scale commercial farmers freely sell their produce to private agro-processing companies at competitive market prices that are discovered through the willing-buyer, willing-seller daily spot market auction system.
Dr Mano said an efficient agricultural marketing and predictable pricing system were the most critical cornerstone of any successful national food and agricultural development strategy.
Online Reporter