The ManicaPost
Samuel Kadungure
Senior Reporter
ZIMBABWE is determined to pursue maize self-sufficiency following the introduction of viable producer prices that provide a measure of financial security for farmers.
A producer price is the price received by farmers, livestock or poultry raisers for the sale of their produce at the first point of sale.
It is the average price, or unit value, received by farmers in the domestic market for a specific agricultural commodity produced within a specified period.
A price can either be catalyst or deterrent to the food security of the country, and the producer price announced last week will help farmers decide what crops to plant and in what proportion.
Government last Wednesday announced the pre-planting producer prices of maize, traditional grains, soyabean and cotton in a move expected to motivate farmers to plant bigger hectarage during this cropping season.
The new producer price for maize has been pegged at US$335 per metric tonne, soyabean US$597,59 and sunflower US$687,23.
Traditional grains were pegged at US$335 per tonne and cotton US$ 0,40 per kg for Grade D; US$ 0,41 for Grade C; US$0,43 for Grade B and US$ 0,46 for Grade A.
Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Minister, Dr Anxious Masuka said the announcement of viable pre-planting producer price will incentivise farmers to commit more land under strategic crops.
“The marketing and pricing system being proposed is consistent with achieving both food and nutrition security and macro-economic stability,” said Minister Masuka.
Manicaland is targeting to plant 260 000 hectares under maize and 100 000 hectares under traditional grains.
The majority of the crop will be under the Pfumvudza programme in which Government is giving farmers a full basket of inputs for five plots each measuring 39mx16m per household.
Production in Manicaland is mainly rain-fed, which is often characterised by erratic rainfall distribution.
Successive droughts have weighed down on crop production in recent years, but this is likely to change due to good rains and the introduction of Pfumvudza, which benefited 462 000 farmers in Manicaland after Government set aside $77 billion in the 2023 National Budget to provide free seed and fertilisers to communal farmers.
About three million farmers got farming inputs free of charge under the Pfumvudza scheme, which coupled with a competitive pricing regime will see many farmers growing food crops after having abandoned them for other cash crops such as tobacco, whose marketing was orderly, and prices profitable.
Traditional Grains Producers Association chairman, Mr Basil Nyabadza said the recently announced prices are fair, given the prevailing economic situation.
“However, we urge the authorities to speed up the payments to farmers. Equally, let us have 60 percent payable into a Nostro account in hard currency and the balance of 40 percent in local currency.
“This will cushion the farmer, given the current rate of inflation and high interest rates when you borrow money from financial institutions,” said Mr Nyabadza.
Mr Nyabadza said farmers face multiple challenges, primary among these are excessive stress on land, water and soil health, lack of information on high value products, limited exposure to high productivity practices, weak market linkages, poor access to finance and acute dependence on rainfall.
“To improve productivity, we need to expand and extend mechanisation, not necessarily on an ownership basis, but on hire basis. Accessing equipment should be done on hire basis decentralised to the district level.
“Once we do that, we will see farmers extending hectarage and accomplishing better returns because of volume. We are also pleased that traditional grains are now a feature of our agricultural season and rural agriculture is now speaking much louder than before, which is a positive exercise,” said Mr Nyabadza.
Commercial farmer, Mr Lovemore Gijima-Msindo, said to increase farmer incomes, there is need to adopt a higher value mix of farm output, capture greater value through better storage and processing, and make market mechanisms more efficient for farm inputs, financing, and sale of output.
“Maize is a strategic crop, and improving its production through good agronomic practices is crucial as it will reduce food insecurity. A good price attracts a farmer because he or she is guaranteed a return on investment.
“Farming is a business where a good product should fetch a good price. That is what is required for this country to attain agricultural self-sufficiency,” said Mr Msindo.
