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Grain Marketing Board silos

Charity Ruzvidzo Business Reporter
THE Grain Marketing Board (GMB) has so far received 121,979 tonnes of maize from farmers as deliveries continue countrywide. GMB corporate communications manager Muriel Zemura yesterday said grain deliveries were still coming in at depots dotted around the country and called on producers to urgently provide their banking details in order to facilitate their payments.

“We’ve so far received 121,979 tonnes of maize and deliveries are still coming in as we speak,” she told Business Chronicle.
“GMB used to pay cash to farmers but we now require their banking details .However, we noted that small farmers from rural areas can’t afford to open bank accounts, they can now collect their money from Zimpost offices.”

Zemura said GMB only owed money to farmers who delivered grain between April 1 to July 3 and urged those concerned to provide acceptable identification documents like a national identity card, driver’s licence and grain receipt to receive their payments.

“GMB would also like to thank farmers for their patience and trust in the government through grain deliveries to GMB and avoiding unscrupulous grain merchants and misfits thus playing their part in ensuring national food security,” he said.

“These farmers are not only maize farmers, we also have small grain farmers who still need to collect their payments.”
The government has pegged the 2014-2015 maize producer price at $390 a tonne, which has been well received by farmers as it ensures profitability of the sector and protects farmers from unscrupulous middlemen.

Zimbabwe requires two million tonnes of grain annually and last week President Mugabe, while officially opening the 104th Harare Agricultural Show, said the nation had now attained national food self-sufficiency following last season’s bumper harvest.

He said the country was set to surpass the 1,4 million tonnes target in grain and maize production and indicated that tobacco production continued on an upward trend, now being valued at over $676 million from 167 million kilogrammes realised during the 2012/2013 season.

Generally, cotton, sugar and horticultural crops did slightly better than in the last season with overall crop production recording much improvement.