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Edgar Vhera, Agriculture Specialist Writer
The Agricultural Marketing Authority (AMA) has directed all cotton contractors registered for the 2023/2024 agricultural production season to remit grade differentials (back pays) to growers.
This directive comes as preparation for 2025 cotton marketing seasons have advanced with the seed cotton standards alignment exercise having ended yesterday.
The exercise conducted in collaboration with contractors, farmer representatives and Agritex officials began on March 17 in Harare and was scheduled to run until yesterday.
The annual exercise is meant to maintain grading consistency in line with Statutory Instrument (SI) 142 of 2009.
AMA acting chief executive, Mr Jonathan Mukuruba emphasised the importance of maintaining stringent grading standards.
“By ensuring that only high-quality cotton reaches the market, we can improve pricing structures, boost farmer earnings and strengthen Zimbabwe’s position in the global cotton trade.
“In this regard, cotton merchants are urged to pay grade differentials in accordance to stipulated standards as depicted in SI 142 of 2009,” he said.
Mr Mukuruba said payment of grade differential prices would go a long way in motivating farmers to exercise pre-grading at homestead level leading to improved cotton grades.
The quality of seed cotton has over the years been on the downward trend due to a number of key factors, such as poor rainfall pattern which leads to the discolouration of fibres, leaf trash, weak or immature fibres, insect stain due to lack of adequate application of chemicals and lack of grade differential payments which demotivated farmers to pre-grade their seed cotton.
To address the decline in cotton quality, AMA has initiated efforts in recent years to revitalise proper grading practices and advocate for the implementation of grade price differential payments.
In 2013, AMA began the establishment of national cotton standards through the grading boxes refurbishment exercise, a process whereby cotton grades are carefully displayed in sets of boxes showing the maximum acceptable downgrading factors in each box.
In line with Statutory Instrument (SI) 142 of 2009 as amended by SI 63 of 2011 and SI 118 of 2022, all cotton merchants are compelled to pay grade differential payments before end of November of each marketing season.
Apart from payment by grades, AMA mandated contractors to display grades within seven days of grading at every common buying point (CBP) as feedback to farmers.
Cotton grading is the visual interpretation or appraisal of seed cotton to identify similarities in quality through comparison with physical and descriptive standards depicted in national standard grading boxes in line with SI 142 of 2009.
Manual grading is based on appearance and feel and is accomplished mainly through the human senses of sight and touch.
Contractors are required to take a sample of one kilogramme of seed cotton in each bale during grading.
In the 2025 cotton marketing season, there are 12 grading stations, with the Cotton Company of Zimbabwe (Cottco) accounting for seven.
AMA prepares seed cotton standards for A, B, C and D grades, annually as a guide to all registered merchants during the grading process.
The standards are also used for educational purposes to farmers during field days, farmer field schools and agricultural shows.
AMA acts as an arbitrator in cases where a farmer disputes the grade awarded using the established seed cotton grading standard boxes.
The Government introduced a grade-based pricing model during the 2023 marketing season.
The price for grade A seed cotton was pegged at 46 US cents per kilogramme and grade B at 43 US cents.
Grade C seed cotton fetched 41 US cents and grade D 40 US cents per kilogramme respectively.
For the 2024 marketing season Government set grade A seed cotton price at 43 US cents per kilogramme, grade B at 39 US cents/kg, while grade C had a price of 36 US cents and grade D the lowest at 32 US cents per kg.
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