Panicky govt calls for more grain imports
LIVINGSTONE MARUFU
Government is calling for more grain imports from millers and those with free funds amid fears that the farmers will hold on to their maize, Business Times can report.
This comes as farmers rejected the government’s US$90 incentive for early delivery of grain to the Grain Marketing Board (GMB).
Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development minister Anxious Masuka has acknowledged that the strategic grain reserve and deliveries to GMB may be low hence the need to import more.
“Based on the projected cereal harvest and the current national Strategic Grain Reserve of 522 913 metric tonnes (mt) and low deliveries thus far, it is recommended to activate importation of 300 000mt of grain by both millers and the government,” Masuka said.
In the latest government report, Masuka said millers and stock feed producers should access foreign currency from the RBZ auction as well as free funds for grain importation.
World average maize price per tonne now stands at above US$225 per tonne and with shipping costs, the maize is landing between US$290 and US$330 per tonne.
This comes at a time when the government is offering US$215 per tonne which comprises US$90 incentive and US$75000.
With the foreign currency exchange rate dashing to US$1:ZWL$600 from US$1:ZWL$550 last week, the maize price has fallen to US$215 from US$236 due to the volatility of the local currency.
This is the main reason that the farmers are holding on to their grain as they don’t want currency that can be easily eroded by inflation.
Zimbabwe National Farmers Union (ZNFU) chairman Stewart Mubonderi told Business Times that the government should empower the local farmer by offering competitive prices.
“We are offering our farmers US$215 which could further depreciate to less than US$200 per tonne within a week at a time when we are allowing imports of US$330 per tonne in the country,” Mubonderi said.
“Why can’t we give our people US$280 per tonne and see how deliveries will improve within a shortest possible time.”
He added: “Government must give farmers US$ as most if not all operations are pegged in US$. By doing so production will go up and industry will procure cheaper raw materials and the economy will boom but with the current set up the stalemate will continue.”
Mubonderi said there was fear of side-marketing, as the ZWL$75000 per tonne translates to US$125 which does not help farmers.
A Goromonzi based farmer, Joshua Nyamukacha told this publication that the government should remove the ZWL$75 000 and replace it with US$200 which works together with the US$90 incentive .
“The authorities keep pumping money outside the country at a time when their farmers are struggling to increase production due to their poor pricing models and high cost of production.
The money that they are importing maize should be given to local farmers and see how the deliveries can improve ,” he said.
“After they have paid farmers competitive prices they should import at a later stage after they have exhausted the local market.”
The rainy season was particularly short this year but the short period came with heavy rainfall and floods.
Another farmer Edith Mururami echoed Nyamukacha’s sentiments.
“Currently fertiliser and labour costs are all in US dollars and with the ZW$75 000 per tonne offered, farming will be more difficult in the 2022/2023 summer cropping season. They should give us the import parity price,” she said.
This year a total area of 1 900 754 hectares were put under maize with a projected yield of 1 557 914 tonnes of maize thereby giving us an average of 0.82 tonnes per hectare.
This is a huge drop from 1.39 tonnes per hectare recorded during the 2020/20221 summer cropping season.
This was attributed to late onset of the season, intermittent and prolonged dry spells experienced in most parts of the country as well as poor rainfall distribution across most parts of the country during the peak production period of the season.
