Staff Reporter

Government through the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has continued to support farmers under the Government funded farming programmes by religiously depositing some funds into the fertiliser company to ensure a constant and timely supply of inputs.

This publication spoke to a contact within one of the fertiliser companies who revealed that the Government was depositing the foreign currency component to the suppliers every week, which has enabled fertiliser companies to mobilise enough stock.

“The Central Bank has been issuing US$500 000 a week per fertiliser company…. As a result of that foreign currency, our company has mobilised significant stocks of Ammonium Nitrate (AN) and Urea fertiliser into the country. 

Some of the product is in Beira waiting funding whilst some has already been released to existing schemes on foreign currency facilities that were already availed to ZFC.

“Company policy is that we will not keep any finished stocks in the warehouses as we are required to quickly dispatch them to the client for a productive season. 

Recently we received 3 000mt of Ammonium gas from Saudi Arabia on 15 January 2022,” revealed the source from one of the fertiliser companies who preferred anonymity.

Meanwhile, the price survey of fertiliser on the open market reveals that the farmer is being fleeced as a 50kg of AN is selling at US$45 and in shops such as farm and City it is priced at ZW$7770 per 50kg bag as of 15 January 2022.