ZNFU urges reintroduction of maize marketing board
By Chiwoyu Sinyangwe
Tue 08 June 2010, 08:20 CAT
ZAMBIA National Farmers Union (ZNFU) has called for the reintroduction of the marketing board to oversee the purchase and eventual sale of agricultural commodities.
The farmers body has since suggested that
millers and grain traders be banned from directly purchasing maize and other agricultural commodities from small scale farmers as they often bought the crops at below production cost price.
ZNFU president Jervis Zimba said there was need for the creation of one institution, such as the defunct National Marketing Board (NAMBOARD), that will solely oversee the purchase of maize from farmers in the country.
Zimba explained that the country needed to adopt a system like in Malawi and Zimbabwe where a single institution was responsible for buying all the maize in the country and also executed the marketing functions.
He said the firm to oversee the maize marketing exercise needed to be modeled along the lines of the defunct NAMBOARD. Zimba said the deregulation in maize marketing had proved that it could never work to better the lives of poor farmers and mealie meal consumers.
“What we really need at the moment is to reform the maize marketing sector because it is clear that the market forces of demand and supply have failed to work in this country,” Zimba said.
“This equation of demand and supply has failed to work because not only is it benefiting few people…the millers, while the farmers and the government are both losing out. And the rate at which we are going, the farmers will need an institution like NAMBOARD. A similar arrangement is happening in Malawi and Zimbabwe and in both countries it has proved to be a huge success.”
Formed in 1985, Namboard was the monopoly buyer of maize at prices set by the government and the cooperatives were merely agents.
The establishment of Namboard was based on the belief that centralised agricultural marketing would streamline the operations, while the promotion of cooperative unions was viewed as a way of protecting the peasant farmers from exploitation.
In mid-1989, the government announced the dissolution of Namboard and transfer of its agricultural marketing and related functions to ZCF, including fertilizer importation, maintenance of maize strategic reserves, importation and distribution of empty grain bags, and provision of fumigation services. The main justification for the decision was the further streamlining of the agricultural marketing system by avoiding duplication of responsibilities and double handling.
Zimba said there was need for a strong government insofar as maize marketing was concerned.
“In the absence of very serious government intervention, which normally happen world over, as staple food and if we want to maintain consistence in production, government needs to intervene,” he said.
“We are aware that the millers, grain traders and briefcase buyers do nothing in a surplus situation. All we are saying is that ‘can we have a serious intervention’ by the government. I think we have taken too long to react to these unscrupulous market forces. What we should have done…What we really need to do now is total reform programme for agriculture. We have discovered that this equation of demand and supply does not work in small markets like Zambia. So, the farmers’ call right now is that they are thinking that the only choice we have is revert to the old system of FRA buying the crop and traders and millers should buy from FRA. And then we can start discussing on pre-plant prices…before the farmers grow the crop. The current problem we have now…we need government intervention by buying the crop and exporting it under a subsidy programme.”
Zimba said owing to the dysfunctional maize marketing arrangement in the country, efforts of the government to provide subsidised inputs and fertilizers to farmers were not paying dividends.
“The government provides empowerment to the farmers in pre-planting season,” Zimba said.
“…and at the same time provides them with the necessary inputs but what happens is that when it comes to the marketing time…because the farmers are selling at below-price-production, the government initiative of supporting farmers only accumulates to the briefcase buyers and millers who get the final product at ridiculously low prices.”
Zimba said there was need for the government to lower the cost of production in the country to enable the farm products to become competitive locally and internationally.
“The cost of production in Zambia is too high; therefore in the next budget, he has to address,” said Zimba.
Labels: GRAIN MARKETING BOARD, JERVIS ZIMBA, MAIZE, MARKETING BOARDS, NAMBOARD, ZNFU
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Zambia, Zim partner on food security issues
By Fridah Zinyama and Namatama Mundia
Thu 11 Feb. 2010, 04:00 CAT
ZAMBIA and Zimbabwe have entered a partnership that will see the two countries co-operating on food security issues. And the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) has offloaded 100 metric tonnes of maize in Southern Province to mitigate the hunger situation in some parts of that province.
This followed a four-day meeting between the Grain Marketing Board and Zambia's Food Reserve Agency to discuss wide-ranging issues concerning national food security.
According to the Herald Newspaper of Zimbabwe, chairperson for Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe Tafadzwa Musarara, who attended the meetings, on Monday said local stakeholders had seen it necessary to approach regional food security bodies and find ways of boosting Zimbabwe's grain reserves.
Food Reserve Agency of Zambia chief executive Dr Antony Mwanaumo said his organisation was seeking new areas of co-operation with greater emphasis on food security. The two organisations will co-operate on silo rehabilitation and silo management, and training on grain trading among others.
GMB has been involved in rehabilitating Zambia's silos. The Zambian delegation expressed optimism on the growing level of co-operation between the two organisations.
In 2008, Zimbabwe had a maize deficit of 600 000 tonnes and imported part of the needed grain from Zambia.
And Choma district commissioner Laiven Apuleni confirmed in an interview on Tuesday that his office requested FRA to offload maize to the vulnerable people and schools whose food security had been affected by the bad rainfall pattern in areas bordering the Gwembe Valley.
“FRA has responded to our calls because people don't have food, they will only start harvesting the little remaining in their fields after March,” Apuleni said. “The selling of maize has started and it will go up to the end of February.”
He said a 50-kilogramme of maize was selling at K70, 000.
“Those who need to buy maize will have to get clearance from my office,” he said.
Apuleni said areas that were badly hit by hunger include Sinazongwe, Choma while places around the plateau had not been affected.
Meanwhile, Apuleni said the rehabilitations of the Choma-Chitongo road had commenced.
He said the rehabilitation works which were suspended last year because the contractor, China Geo Construction had gone on industrial break commenced last week and were expected to be completed in August this year.
Apuleni said the construction of the Choma District Hospital would be completed by June next year.
“They (contractors) are doing the foundation of the hospital now and the hospital will have all the major departments,” he said.
He also said two bridges-Ngonga and Munyeke which had been completed were now being used and that had cheered the people in the district.
Labels: FOOD, FRA, GRAIN MARKETING BOARD, HUNGER, ZAMBIA, ZIMBABWE
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Farmers now collecting agric inputs
Agriculture Reporter
FARMERS have started collecting fertilizer and seed from Grain Marketing Board depots countrywide after successfully applying for vouchers from local financial institutions. Banks that have begun assisting the farmers are CBZ, FBC and Agribank.
Over 3 170 tonnes of Compound D fertilizer, 28 tonnes of Ammonium Nitrate, 248 tonnes of Urea, 127 135 tonnes of maize seed and two tonnes of sorghum seed have been collected by farmers under the loan scheme.
The Government announced a US$210 million loan facility for the 2009/10 summer cropping season, where farmers collect vouchers from banks after applying for the money using immovable properties as collateral.
Although cattle and movable assets have been approved as collateral, investigations have revealed that such people were not among the first batch of beneficiaries.
GMB public relations manager Mrs Muriel Zemura confirmed that farmers had started collecting inputs using vouchers.
"The problem is now with supplies as fertilizer are running out at most GMB depots across the country. At least there should be more deliveries of the inputs to GMB depots for farmers to access them on time," she said.
Mrs Zemura said Mashonaland Central Province had received 2 264 tonnes of Compound D fertilizer and 1 237,5 tonnes had been collected by the farmers, 197 tonnes of urea of the 260 tonnes that had been distributed, had already been collected.
She said 34 tonnes of maize seed had been collected from the 548 tonnes distributed.
A total of 55 tonnes of sorghum were received at GMB depots in Mashonaland Central but none
Labels: FERTILIZER, GRAIN MARKETING BOARD
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Bring back GMB inputs scheme
Developments within the agricultural sector are worrying, especially with reports that very few farmers are on schedule with their land preparations. There are real problems out there as farmers struggle to finance their cropping programmes.
The cross-over to multiple currencies, especially the use of the United States dollar and the rand, has left many people — including farmers — battling to secure money to buy agricultural inputs.
Many farmers have yet to start tilling their land in readiness for the rains that are just around the corner owing largely to financing problems.
Farmers should have by now mobilised all the inputs, such as seed, fertilizer, fuel and chemicals but this has not been so crucially because of the prohibitive costs of inputs.
The cost of production has gone well beyond what farmers can afford and even the Government’s US$210 million inputs scheme has not done much to alleviate the burden placed on farmers.
Farmers have complained of the stringent requirements being asked by the banks for them to access inputs.
The demand for housing title deeds by banks has sent shivers down the spines of many farmers.
They are refusing to accept offer letters and other movable farm equipment as collateral security and this has given farmers a serious headache.
We thus believe that it is time the Government intervened and quickly tackles the threat to food security likely to be caused by farmers’ failure to produce.
We believe that Government was somewhat quick to wean off farmers given the changeover to multi-currencies for which many people were not prepared.
Farmers still needed to be assisted with inputs on the lines of the highly successful Inputs Credit Scheme that the Government ran a couple of seasons ago through the Grain Marketing Board.
Such a system ensures that farmers, barring a drought and other natural disasters, produce and enhances the country’s food security.
It should be borne in mind that there are still elements within the country opposed to land reform and would do everything possible to scuttle the gains achieved so far.
The Government should be wary of such elements even within the banking sector and any other sector for that matter and so entrusting the food security of the country in the hands of such elements would certainly be disastrous.
The issue of food security is very important even to the life of any Government and it needs not be delegated to other players. Some governments have been toppled as a result of food shortages and this should make us understand that we should not mess around with issues of the stomach.
What if there are some people using the current inputs scheme to sabotage production to satisfy their selfish interests? These are all issues that need serious interrogation otherwise we could be playing right into the hands of the enemy.
Right now there is little activity taking place on the farms and we would be hoping Government immediately intervenes to help the farmers and avert possible disaster.
We also understand that at some stage Government needs to wean off the farmers but cannot turn a blind eye when there is clear evidence that most farmers are failing to cope in this multi- currency regime. There is no denying the fact that most farmers lost money locked up in banks when we adopted the multi-currency system and to expect the same farmers to immediately bounce back is asking too much.
While some countries are moving forward with their agricultural production on the back of Government subsidies, we seem to have taken a backward route, detrimental to our food security.
Malawi now ranks as Southern Africa’s top maize producer thanks to a fertilizer subsidy introduced by President Bingu waMutharika.
The results are there for everyone to see, as Malawi has been able to produce over 2 million tonnes of maize.
The same goes for Zambia and other countries where subsidies exist.
We must never take short cuts when it comes to agriculture. What needs to be done simply has to be done and right now what needs to be done is for the Government to ensure all farmers go back to the land by making the inputs available.
Let us forget the banks, food security is the Government’s baby and the onus is on it to ensure the sector fires on all cylinders.
When there are food shortages, it is the Government that will be saddled with huge imports bill to feed the people.
So why can’t it simply provide subsidised inputs to ensure production and consequently food security?
Labels: GRAIN MARKETING BOARD
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Govt unveils US$210m agric facility
Herald Reporter
Government, in collaboration with its private sector partners, has unveiled a US$210 million agricultural loan facility for farmers to access inputs ahead of the 2009/10 summer cropping season.
Farmers will repay the loans that would come in the form of fertilizer and seed after they have harvested their crops.
In a statement yesterday, Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Develop-ment Minister Joseph Made said the inputs would be distributed through the Grain Marketing Board’s depots countrywide.
"The inputs will be delivered directly to the 84 GMB depots throughout the country and farmers are encouraged to approach their respective commercial banks either as individuals or as groups where release orders/vouchers will be issued to beneficiaries," said Minister Made.
"The release orders/vouchers will facilitate collection of inputs from the local GMB depots. The CBZ is the lead bank."
Outlining the modalities, Minister Made said delivery schedules based on natural regions’ requirements had been prepared to enable suppliers to deliver inputs to GMB depots for storage.
Farmers would then approach their commercial banks where they would be issued with the release orders/vouchers.
"Banks — in liaison with Agritex — will continuously monitor farmers’ programmes on-farm to ensure consistency with loan disbursements.
"Banks will recover loans on maturity from farmers and remit proceeds to CBZ Bank," said Minister Made, adding that GMB and banks would provide regular updates on implementation programmes.
The minister said arrangements had been made with banks to allow farmers to pay back the loans between May and September 2010 when they had harvested their crops, or alternatively on the maturity of the loan.
"The farmers accessing the inputs supply scheme should note that this is a loan facility and should make sure that the inputs are used to grow crops with the highest level of crop husbandry to attain higher yields per unit area in order to raise income to repay the loan," he said.
The development is a major boost for many farmers who had been appealing to the Government for funding ahead of the rains.
Government sources last night said the latest scheme is in addition to one proposed by an inter-ministerial workforce that has reportedly pledged to mobilise agricultural inputs for one million smallholder families.
Farmers have been appealing for assistance in the wake of the introduction of the multi-currency system.
Minister Made said the total package included 125 000 tonnes of compound fertilizer, 185 000 tonnes of top dressing fertilizer, 13 500 tonnes of maize seed, and 5 580 tonnes of seed for small grain production.
He said his ministry had started signing contracts for the supply of inputs under the first tranche valued at US$100 million.
These are Compound D (90 000 tonnes), urea (23 850 tonnes), Ammonium Nitrate (32 000 tonnes), sorghum seed (1 000 tonnes) and hybrid maize seed (7 500 tonnes).
Targeted farmers include those allocated farms under the A1 and A2 models in the land reform programme, communal farmers, their old resettlement counterparts and large-scale commercial farmers.
The minister said empty grain bags would also be supplied to farmers wishing to deliver to the GMB any produce realised from the scheme.
He urged farmers to always study weather patterns and seek assistance from their Agritex officers.
Minister Made said his staff would be in the field to monitor progress as well help farmers throughout the season.
To ensure timeous and effective distribution of the inputs to farmers, Government had put in place a distribution framework whose implementation modalities had been discussed and agreed upon by the farming unions and the banks involved.
These are the Zimbabwe National Farmers’ Union, the Zimbabwe Farmers’ Union, the Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers’ Union and the Commercial Farmers’ Union.
Also represented at the meeting were the Bankers’ Association of Zimbabwe and GMB.
Government’s private sector partners in the scheme include African Invest-ments Group and ASP Marketing.
Late last week, an inter-ministerial meeting agreed on a US$106 million scheme to supply one million smallholder households with inputs ahead of the farming season.
Labels: AGRICULTURE, GRAIN MARKETING BOARD, JOSEPH MADE
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GMB to pay farmers with inputs
Agriculture Reporter
The Grain Marketing Board has resorted to
offering inputs as part-payment to farmers who delivered their maize to the parastatal’s depots. Farmers can get fertilizers and chemicals instead of cash for grain delivered to the parastal’s depots countrywide.
This comes as relief to some farmers who were failing to purchase inputs for the forthcoming summer cropping season, as they had no cash to support their operations, while others were still waiting for their money from the parastatal.
GMB public relations officer Mr Joseph Katete said the parastatal was selling fertilizer at US$31 per 50kg bag and had several chemicals, herbicides and pesticides in stock.
"As efforts of GMB to support the farmers throughout their activities, we are offering fertilizers — compound D and ammonium nitrate — and chemicals like Shavit, Dual/metalchlor, Alachlor, Lasso, Altrazine, Landa and Karate at depots countrywide.
"We do not have maize seed at the moment, but farmers will get any amount of inputs they require for their money and this is being done with the farmers’ consent," Mr Katete said.
Meanwhile, the GMB has said it had mobilised funds to pay farmers for grain deliveries made between April and June 19 this year, but was still waiting for the disbursements.
The parastatal secures funds for buying grain from the private sector through the Government.
In a recent statement, the company said all outstanding payments would be made at US$265 per tonne and farmers would be advised on the dates when they would get their money.
This year, GMB is competing with other buyers to purchase grain from farmers and is among those offering high prices.
The majority of the buyers are offering prices ranging from US$100 to US$180 per tonne, resulting in some farmers holding on to their grain in anticipation of better prices.
Grain deliveries that had declined at the GMB depots are expected to start picking up as most farmers complete harvesting and as soon as the company starts the second phase of payments to farmers.
Normally, the maize intake period reaches its peak at the end of July up to the end of September.
Labels: FERTILIZER, GRAIN MARKETING BOARD, JOSEPH KATETE, PARASTATALS, SEED
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Govt to review grain prices
Ralph Mutema
Sat, 27 Jun 2009 13:40:00 +0000
THE Zimbabwe government will review grain prices in a bid to encourage farmers to produce more, according to a statement made by President Mugabe on Friday
Addressing the Zanu PF National Consultative Assembly yesterday, President Mugabe acknowledged the hard work farmers, especially new ones are putting in, in order to increase yield in this season.
The president singled out tobacco farmers whom he said were doing a sterling job, but were getting only US$30 dollars per kilogramme.
“We are reviewing the situation to see how these farmers can be compensated to encourage them to perform better,” said President Mugabe who was concerned that some contractors were cheating farmers by deducting huge amounts of money from crop sales.
Contractors would have provided the farmers with inputs such as fertiliser and seed.
President Mugabe urged farmers to start preparing for the 2009-2010 cropping season and said the government will offer the key inputs.
The president said farmers should not only concentrate on cash crops, but must also grow maize and small grains to ensure food security, adding that the Grain Marketing Board would be given another US$500,000 to buy maize.
President Mugabe also discouraged farmers from selling to non-governmental organisations.
Meanwhile the Grain Marketing Board has resumed buying grain from farmers and letting out silos to farmers and private companies wishing to stock grain.
The silos will be open to those farmers, commercial and communal, who can bring their grain at the correct moisture content.
The president also commissioned a state-of-the-art milking parlour at Gushungo Dairy Estates in Mazowe. This is rated the second-best technological set-up on the African continent.
It can milk 64 cows at once, or 251 cows in three hours making it the best technology in the country at the moment. Gushungo Dairy Estates produces 6,500 litres of milk a day.
President Mugabe said his wish was to see once such piece of machinery in each province to cater for people’s needs.
Labels: GRAIN MARKETING BOARD, ZANU-PF
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Deliver produce to GMB, farmers told
Herald Reporter
FARMERS who received inputs under the Champion Farmer Programme should deliver their produce to the Grain Marketing Board according to their contracts or face prosecution, the Government said yesterday.
The programme’s logistics sub-committee chairman, Brigadier General Douglas Nyikayaramba, said farmers who circumvent payment systems would be harshly dealt with.
"All contracted Champion Farmers are obliged to deliver to GMB as per contractual agreement to facilitate recovery of costs advanced to them.
"Failure to deliver to the GMB would attract very severe penalties," he said.
Government, he said, is expecting a yield of about 1,5 million tonnes of maize from farmers who received inputs under the National Food Security Programme.
Brig Gen Nyikayaramba said although the programme surpassed its targeted planting hectarage of 500 000ha, yields were affected by lack of basal and top-dressing fertilizers.
He said the high level committee of the programme, which met recently, had found that the crop situation across the country was generally good especially in Matabeleland and most parts of Mashonaland.
"A yield of 1 500 000 tonnes with expected inflows to GMB and other buyers of grain of about 400 000 to 500 000 tonnes after satisfying household food security is anticipated.
There was likely to be low inflows into GMB because of competition from private buyers like the poultry, pig industries and others.
"The GMB should put its act together through an appropriate pricing mechanism and credible payment modalities," Brig Gen Nyikayaramba said.
He said the committee also agreed on the need to put in place elaborate plans for crop harvesting, covering transportation, combining, fuel requirements and grain bags for communal farmers.
"Communal farmers are also urged to deliver their produce to GMB to facilitate recovery of cost advanced to the farmers.
"This means that the operation’s mandate would continue up to harvest period in order to see the programme through," he said.
A five-member committee chaired by Secretary for Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Mr Ngoni Masoka was set up to finalise all technical details required to see the operation through to harvesting period as well as outstanding commitments and make recommendations to the Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, Dr Misheck Sibanda.
In line with the fiscal and monetary policy statements, there was no longer any role for the committee to play for the 2009 winter wheat programme.
"This means that wheat farmers should seriously consider other options to finance their winter wheat production.
"However, the committee noted that in the absence of a sound financial package for wheat farmers, the winter wheat season is likely to be disastrous," Brig Gen Nyikayaramba said.
Government set a target of 500 000ha for maize production while an additional 200 000ha was earmarked for small grain production.
Labels: CHAMPION FARMER PROGRAMME, DOUGLAS NYIKAYARAMBA, GRAIN MARKETING BOARD
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