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Rumbidzayi Zinyuke-Senior Reporter
Deliveries to the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) have picked up over the past few months to reach about 20 000 tonnes per week from a low of 1 500 tonnes, as the country moves to meet its targets to ensure national food security.
This comes as the country already has enough grain reserves in stock from the previous season while another good rainfall season has been forecast for the 2022/2023 agriculture season to ensure enough food in the future.
Speaking at the post Cabinet meeting yesterday, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said the maize stocks stood at 435 489 tonnes as at August 25, while traditional grains stocks were at 64 716 tonnes and wheat stocks at 62 793 tonnes.
“The wheat in the country provides three months cover at an allocation rate of 21 000 tonnes per month. It is reported that a total of 131 139 tonnes of grain had been received by the Grain Marketing Board during the reporting period. Cumulative sales from April 1, 2022 stood at ZW$17 673 139 070,” she said.
Minister Mutsvangwa said a total of $6,82 billion and US$6 million had been received for farmer payments to date with a total of $762 978 845,46 and US$5 106 280 remain outstanding to farmers.
“The nation is being informed that the country is expected to receive normal to above-normal rainfall during the 2022/23 season. The nation will continuously be updated of the rainfall pattern as the season progresses,” she said.
Responding to questions on measures put in place to ensure food security, Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Dr Anxious Masuka said grain deliveries were anticipated to reach 300 000 tonnes by October.
“We expect deliveries to be made till the end of the season which will run until October because of the late start of the rains and also the end of season rains which delayed.
“Here we are talking about GMB deliveries only, but in terms of Government policy we say that 40 percent of what millers and other stakeholders use in the industry should be secured through value chain financing or contract production. So we will be updating as we go along,” he said.
However, side marketing continues to haunt the agriculture sector, a problem which Government has been trying to address not only in grain marketing, but also in tobacco, cotton and other crops.
Minister Masuka said the Agriculture and Food Systems Transformative strategy was part of Government’s solution to side marketing.
“The strategy is anchored of growing the sector and financing that is based on discipline by the value chain actors from farmers to the off-takers, so that contractual obligations are honoured.
“If we do this, we will be able to grow the agriculture sector, but side marketing will be disruptive of this growth,” he said.
In response, the Minister said Government had put in place a raft of Statutory Instruments to assist stakeholders in making sure stakeholders honour their contractual obligations.
Meanwhile, farmer organisations have encouraged their members to continue delivering their grain to GMB.
Zimbabwe Farmers Union president Abdul Nyathi said farmers were already preparing for the 2022/2023 agriculture season.
“We continue to encourage our farmers to sell their maize to GMB because the Government has increased the price of grains.
“This is also the time of the year that we are preparing for the next summer and we urge our farmers to start preparing the land,” he said.
Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union president Dr Shadreck Makombe said most farmers were now in need of inputs, hence the push to deliver their grain.
“The increase in the delivery of grain has been necessitated by farmers who want to buy inputs for the next season. Farmers have to sell and get money. The last season was not good for us and farmers need to get ready for the next season,” he said.
Online Reporter