Bumper Harvest Expected, Are farmers Getting value?

ZTN Reporter

Zimbabwean farmers are expected to smile all the way to the bank if forecasts by experts are anything to go by, following an expected bumper harvest.

The Grain Marketing Board is anticipating receiving 2,8 million tonnes of grain this year. The big question is, “Are farmers getting value for their efforts?” The answer is no, the reason being the high cost of doing business and poor crop management, according to Zimbabwe Farmers Union Director, Paul Zacharia.

Zacharia recommended improvements on planting, weeding and fertiliser application times. He said while production is concentrated and intensive, the costs of inputs fuelled by activity on the black market need to be controlled.

Similar sentiments were expressed by Economist, Professor Gift Mugano who said the country’s fertilizer companies should be capacitated now to avoid planting season rushes when fertiliser prices are exorbitant.