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Seed and fertilisers producers had this week raised prices in some cases by as much as 400 percent and Government quickly moved in and engaged the producers. A 10kg bag of seed maize had been hiked from $25 to more than $100 while a 25kg was selling for $250 from $70 last season.

A 50kg bag of fertiliser had increased from $65 to more than a $100. Following Government’s intervention, producers responded positively and reviewed their prices downwards. The price of a 10kg bag of seed maize is now pegged at between $42 and $55 while a 25kg now costs between $111 and $137 depending on the variety.

Fertiliser is now selling for between $50 and $65 for a 50kg bag. There is, however, a need to further review downwards the prices of seed maize which are still not affordable to most farmers given that the farmers sold their maize to the Grain Marketing Board at $390 a tonne. The prices of fertilisers have been reviewed to last season’s levels and the same should be done for seed maize.

We want to commend both the seed and fertilisers producers for responding positively to the Government’s call for them to reduce prices and as already stated, seed producers should reduce prices to last season’s levels. Most farmers have already mobilised the required resources to buy inputs and as such it is now too late for them to make adjustments to absorb any increase in prices.

The Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers’ Union president, Mr Wonder Chabikwa, said while the reduced prices provided some relief to farmers, the margins are not sufficient to maintain budgeted hectarages especially for self-financing farmers. “These prices are still too high. Prices prevailing as at September 30 and October 1, 2018, are the ones farmers used in their budgets,” said Mr Chabikwa.

The issue of seed maize prices should be addressed as soon as possible because the onset of the rains is a few weeks away. Farmers need to buy the seed maize before the start of the rains. The high prices of inputs such as seed and fertilisers are a threat to the country’s food security hence should be addressed urgently.

We need to produce not just enough for our consumption but even surplus for export. Government stopped importing maize because farmers produced enough last season and this is what as a nation we should strive to achieve each farming season.

Seed and fertiliser producers should ensure prices are affordable to farmers in order to boost production. Our economy is agro-based and as such a boost in agricultural production will impact positively on the industrial growth.

We want at this juncture to call upon those involved in the distribution of inputs under both Command Agriculture and Presidential Inputs Scheme to ensure the inputs are delivered to farmers before the onset of the rains.

Farmers need to plant with the early rains given that weather experts have predicted an El Nino-induced drought this coming farming season.