Paton advises cotton farmers to finance themselves

COMMENT - Do industries elsewhere 'finance themselves'? This is just another neoliberal fantasy. Because 'we all know' that companies in China and Taiwan aren't getting state subsidies, right? Tax the mines.

Paton advises cotton farmers to finance themselves
By Fridah Zinyama in Mazabuka
Tue 30 Mar. 2010, 04:00 CAT

CAPACITY Building for Private Sector Development team leader John Paton has said there is need for cotton farmers to self-finance their production as it will give them the freedom to sell their product to different buyers at good prices.

Cotton production has been going down over the past few years because farmers have not been getting a good price for their cotton.

Cotton production has gone from about 94,000 metric tonnes to 13,000 metric tonnes over a period of five years; this is a situation which has prompted the Cotton Association of Zambia (CAZ) to find ways in which to help farmers improve production.

In an interview, Paton said farmers being able to finance there own crop would help them to find better ways in which to sell their cotton.

“If farmers finance their own production, they will be able to find different ways in which to sell their cotton,” he said. “Auctions can be used to sell cotton and the best offer obtained by farmers.”

Paton said once farmers finance their cotton, there would be competition amongst buyers and farmers would end up with a good price for their product.

“Farmers being able to find better markets will be good for the cotton industry, as it will help improve on reducing production and also reduce on side selling,” he said. “Farmers should also adopt better farming methods which will enable them to not only improve their production but yields and quality of cotton.”

Paton said better yields in cotton production would enable farmers make more profits which would put them in a better position to save some money from their profits to buy their own inputs, to finance their own crops.

And some cotton farmers in Magoye said they would like to adopt better farming methods because that is the only way in which they can improve on their crop production.

“Through the help of CAZ, we have been able to use rippers for preparing our fields and we have noticed that it is helping with our production,” one farmer said. “We also are able to do crop rotation where we grow a cash crop, legume and a food crop, to ensure our food security.”