Some parts of the country received their first rain of the season last week. Unfortunately, some cotton farmers who were reluctant to deliver their crop to the ginners in protest over low prices were caught off guard.
Wheat farmers in the province who failed to beat the October harvesting deadline were also affected by the rain.
Cotton farmers who spoke to The Zimbabwean said they had lost their hard earned crop after the rains destroyed cotton bales which were kept in open spaces, waiting to be transported to ginneries.
“I lost 50 percent of my crop to a hailstorm last week. I was reluctant to sell my crop to the cotton buying companies because of their exploitative prices. We were not expecting the rains so early. Twenty of my bales of cotton were soaked,” said Peter Mlambo, a cotton farmer in Nyamandlovu area.
Another cotton farmer, Stephen Dube, said the loss would make it difficult for them to finance farming activities this year.
“Most farmers were hoarding their crop in the hope that cotton farmers were going to adhere to the government recommended price of $77 cents per kg. The companies are still offering as little as 35 cents per kg and there is no way we can accept that amount considering the huge costs involved in cotton growing,” said Dube.
Dube said the workers were hoping to sell their crop in order to pay their children’s school fees and buy farming inputs for the summer season.
In July this year, the government announced a minimum cotton price of $77 cents per kg for the 2011/12 marketing season. This followed an impasse between the farmers and buyers over a viable price for the crop. Many farmers started picking their crop late as a result. According to cotton outlook figures, cotton cultivation this year rose to 432 709 hectares from last season’s 379 689 hectares.
Post published in: Agriculture