The ManicaPost
Samuel Kadungure
Senior Reporter
THE delivery of grain to the Grain Marketing Board (GMB)’s 14 depots in Manicaland has started with 300 tonnes already delivered so far.
Farmers are being paid their dues within a week.
GMB chief executive officer, Dr Edson Badarai said they are expecting about 500 000 tonnes this season.
At national level, farmers have delivered 12 000 tonnes of maize, 938t of red sorghum, 1623t of white sorghum, six tonnes of mhunga and 2 331t of soyabean.
This depicts an improvement from last season where 10 581t of maize, 364t of red sorghum, 206t of white sorghum, a tonne of mhunga and 525t of soyabean had been delivered during the same period.
Dr Badarai said grain trade has been liberalised this season, adding that farmers with sponsored crops should honour their contractual obligations to avert contractual disputes and litigation.
“The trade of grain has been liberalised. However, farmers are urged to sell their grain to contractors who would have helped them with inputs or financed their production.
“Government also expects beneficiaries of its various programmes such as the Presidential Inputs Programme to deliver their grain to GMB.
“In Manicaland, the following had been received as at June 7, 2023 – maize (278t), wheat (six t), red sorghum (55t), and soyabean (16t).
“Farmers are expected to start accessing money in their bank accounts a week after delivery,” said Dr Badarai.
Government supported 400 000 small-holder farmers in Manicaland through Presidential Inputs Programmes.
The programme straddled across communal, A1, old resettlement and small-scale commercial farming areas, with farmers recording bumper harvests as good rains were received during the 2022/23 cropping season.
This will contribute in ensuring food and nutrition security at household and national level.
The Pfumvudza Programme, which accounted for 56 percent of grain produced in the province last season, was scaled to five plots of 39mx16m per each household with an agro-ecological region-specific crop input package for maize, sorghum, pearl millet, soya beans, sunflower, groundnuts, vegetables and African peas.
Last season, the programme assisted 350 000 households, up from the 250 000 registered in 2021.
Manicaland planted at least 265 000 hectares of maize and 100 000ha of traditional grains.
Dr Badarai said GMB is still finalising collection points to make delivery easier.
“GMB encourages farmers and its Supply Chain Managers (SCM) throughout the country to work together. Farmers are expected to send in their samples of grain before they deliver. That way the grain is first tested to assess moisture content and other quality standards.
“Once the grain meets the set standards, the SCM then gives the nod for farmers to deliver their grain to the depot. If farmers face challenges in transporting the grain to the depot, various options can be worked out by the GMB to ensure that the grain is delivered. We are still finalising the logistics of collection points and communication will be done once everything has been set up on the ground,” said Dr Badarai.
GMB is paying US$335 per tonne for maize and traditional grains, with US$200 paid in cash and the balance of US$135 in local currency at interbank rate on the day of payment.
The price of soyabean has been pegged at US$580, with US$348 paid in foreign currency and US$232 in local currency at the prevailing interbank rate on the day of payment.
Sunflower price has been pegged at US$696, of which US$418 is paid in foreign currency and the US$276 balance in local currency at interbank rate.
