Business Reporter
….as Treasury releases ZWL $500 million for outstanding payments
Cotton farmers have expressed joy following the release of ZWL$500 million for payments to farmers for last season`s deliveries.
Cottco managing director, Mr Pious Manamike yesterday confirmed that Treasury had released the money last Friday and farmers had started receiving their payments, revealing that cotton farmers were still owed ZWL$1.5 billion.
“Treasury has committed to release ZWL$500 million every week, so we are expecting another ZWL$500 million this week and we have since started paying farmers their money,” he said.
Cotton farmers who spoke to this publication expressed joy, citing that the money will go a long way in settling school fees for their children and other daily household needs.
“We are really grateful for what the Government has done for us, we now know that at least they are doing something for us regarding our outstanding payments. I am going to use part of the money to pay school fees for my children and to purchase inputs for the coming season, said a Magunje farmer, Mrs Kudzanai Mazwi.
Cotton Producers and Marketers Association National Chairperson, Mr Stewart Mubonderi commended Government efforts to pay cotton farmers, welcoming the US$30 per 250kg payment announced by the Agricultural Marketing Authority (AMA) up from last year`s US$10. Mr Mubonderi said that the development will motivate farmers to produce more in the coming season.
Meanwhile, AMA is in the process of preparing cotton standards for 2022 through the National Seed Cotton Standard Boxes Refurbishment exercise in accordance with Statutory Instrument 142 of 2009. According to an official from AMA, cotton merchants, farmer representative organizations and Agritex will be consulted for the final approval of 2022 seed cotton standards.
The purpose of the cotton standardization is to ensure that it has the seed quality that is internationally accepted and recognized.
Government has pegged the pre-planting cotton producer price at US$63.23 per bale for the crop produced under Government Pfumvudza/Intwasa programme and US$111.17 per bale for cotton financed under non-Government funded arrangements.
