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Patrick Chitumba, Midlands Bureau Chief
COTTON farmers will be paid all the outstanding $1,5 billion owed for produce deliveries made last year following a directive by President Mnangagwa to release funds to clear the arrears, a Cabinet Minister has said.

As of last week, farmers in different parts of cotton producing zones had confirmed receiving money they were owed putting to an end the dispute that at some point saw some producers being given groceries and basic commodities in exchange for their money.

Delays in paying farmers their dues by the Cotton Company of Zimbabwe (Cottco), to which the Government recently acquired controlling stake, had become a cause for concern to farmers who felt shortchanged for their hard labour.

The Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Resettlement, Dr Anxious Masuka, told cotton sector stakeholders at Nembudziya Growth Point in Gokwe North over the weekend that payment of farmers had started and urged those owed monies to open bank accounts to receive their payments quickly.

“The Government has availed $1,5 billion owed to farmers across the country. President Mnangagwa said please pay the farmers and we have started to pay the farmers,” he said.

“There were some unscrupulous people interfering with cotton prices last year and that resulted in Cottco failing to pay all farmers. The Government was aware of it and banned mobile banking.”

Dr Masuka urged farmers to spread the word across their networks so that farmers not yet paid can also come forward.

“Send the word out there that President Mnangagwa has said that you must be paid for last year’s deliveries. Go to any Cottco offices and get paid,” he said.

“It was never our intention to delay these payments but as you might be aware, the Covid-19 pandemic meant that some of the resources had to be diverted to deal with the pandemic.”

Dr Masuka said cotton was a strategic cash crop and urged farmers to continue producing more to generate wealth.

Cottco acting managing director, Mr Pious Manamike confirmed that they had started paying farmers for last year’s deliveries.

“We are starting with those farmers who have bank accounts and those who are using mobile money. We will eventually deal with those farmers with no payment platforms,” he said.

Mr Manamike also urged farmers to open bank accounts which he said made payments easy.

“We will make sure that all farmers across the country are treated the same,” he said.

Cotton farmers who attended the event paid tribute to the Government for finally addressing their plight. Mrs Martha Sibanda, a mother of three from Nembudziya, said life was hard for them before this latest payment as she was struggling to pay fees and buy inputs for the 2021/2022 season.

“This is the best news in a very long time. I for one was contemplating quitting cotton production even though this has been part of our tradition for years,” she said.

Demand for cotton on the international market took a huge knock last year following the outbreak of Covid-19 but the opening of economic activities in countries like China, has seen the demand slightly improving recently.