TANATSWA KANDENGA
Cotton farmers are anticipating subdued cotton yield as a result of ElNino effects, BT Agric has learnt.
The situation is made worse by COTTCO’s payment delays to the growers, which demotivate them and cause them to plant less hectares in the 2023–2024 growing season.
It follows a 67% increase in cotton production to 89.6m kilos during the 2022–2023 cropping season.
“The yield for this 2023/24 season are likely to be lower than that of last year because we received some late rain and it affected the farmers’ planting program. Farmers have not been paid their full money for last year by COTTCO and it is a demotivation factor as most farmers have seen no reason to continue growing the crop or they reduce the size,” the chairman of the Cotton Producers and Marketers Association of Zimbabwe Stewart Mubonderi said.
He added: “What we are now doing is to sit down with the ministry (of Lands, Agriculture, , Fisheries and Rural Development) and the cotton companies to make sure that farmers are paid on time. We need to know exactly what COTTCO and other players are doing in order to make sure that the money is available.
“Cotton farmers have not yet received their last year payments amounting to about US$4m and as farmers we are terribly worried by this development.
“We have crops that need attention and this money is of paramount importance and also giving confidence to the farmers to make sure that they are fully equipped.
Apparently, COTTCO has paid US$19,3m to farmers to date, out of the US$23,6m it owes, the state-run company said in their recent update.
In Terms of local currency debt payment, the company has only managed to settle ZWL$5.4 bn out of ZWL$28.8bn.
