Source: Farmers withhold excess grain . . . create artificial shortages – herald
Business Reporter
Recent reports that one of Zimbabwe’s largest milling companies, Blue Ribbon Foods, halted operations at its Bulawayo plant due to grain shortage raised alarm and sparked questions about the availability of sufficient grain in the country.
Some observers went further, questioning the authorities’ earlier announcement that Zimbabwe had harvested approximately 2,3 million tonnes of maize during the 2024/25 agricultural season.
There were even claims that the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development had inflated the figures for the season under review.
However, the figures shared by the ministry and widely reported were not the result of guesswork. The data was produced by the ministry in partnership with the country’s competent institution mandated to conduct such important national surveys, the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency.
According to the Second Round of Crops, Livestock and Fisheries Assessment Report (CLAFA-2), released in April 2025, the country’s maize production for the 2024/25 agricultural season rose by 261 percent to 2,294 million tonnes.
The joint report confirmed that maize production during the period under review was dominated by the communal area sector, which contributed 39 percent of the total volume. The A1 sector contributed 28 percent, while the A2 sector accounted for 16,5 percent.
“The estimated maize production is 2 293 556 tonnes, representing a 261 percent increase from the production in the 2023/2024 season, illustrating the recovery from the devastating effects of the El Niño weather phenomenon experienced in the previous season,” reads part of the CLAFA-2 report.
Mashonaland West was the most productive province with 576 360 tonnes, followed by Manicaland with 394 326 tonnes.
The least productive province was Matabeleland North with 63 274 tonnes, while Matabeleland South was not much better, recording 70 837 tonnes.
“Overall, all districts possess sufficient grain for over 12 months, except for Beitbridge, Gweru, and Hwange, which have cereal shortages anticipated within the next three months,” ZimStat stated in the report released mid-April.
Given that Zimbabwe produced such a significant amount of grain, with the surplus cereal ranging from 811 732 tonnes to 1,226 million tonnes using various consumption patterns, the question remains: why does the country appear to have a maize shortage, if the Blue Ribbon story is anything to go by?
The issue appears to lie with farmers withholding their harvest. Emmanuel Gatsi of Makonde in Mashonaland West Province confirmed this trend, noting he has more than 2,5 tonnes in his traditional granary, well over his family’s annual requirement of half a tonne.
“When we had our harvest, we were not sure about the rainfall patterns of the 2025/26 agricultural season. Some were talking of a possible El Niño, and having experienced that in the 2023/24 season, we were not taking chances and selling our harvest,” said Mr Gatsi.
He indicated that the uncertainty has now eased. “But with a normal to above-normal season expected, we might consider selling most of it,” he added.
Mr Gatsi is not the only farmer to withhold grain; the trend appears widespread among producers and for various reasons.
Dr Shadreck Makombe, president of the Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers’ union (ZCFU), has offered his perspective on the reported grain shortage facing millers, stating that maize is “not as scarce in the local market” as suggested, but rather that farmers are reluctant to sell.
He noted that while “farmers have the maize in their granaries,” they are “not willing to dispose (of it) for various reasons”. The ZCFU’s own observations support the official figures, with Dr Makombe confirming that “when we went around the country we realised there is maize out there”.
Addressing claims that the national harvest figures were inflated, he stated, “I don’t think authorities were lying when they released the harvest figures. I am persuaded not to say that.”
The key issue, according to Dr Makombe, lies in the pricing structure and millers’ purchasing preferences.
He explained that the Grain Marketing Board, however, has better prices than what millers want to pay, and that has contributed to farmers remaining with grain while millers face shortages.”
He suggested that millers are unwilling to incur the costs associated with collecting grain from smallholder producers across the country: “There may be other factors, but it seems millers want convenient places where they preserve their profit margins when buying from local farmers.”
The Zimbabwe Farmers Union secretary-general, Paul Zakariya, stated that farmers are struggling to sell their grain following the recent change in the country’s grain marketing policy, which means the GMB is no longer the sole buyer of maize and now focuses mainly on strategic reserves.
The Government recently announced that the GMB would purchase all strategic commodities financed under the Presidential Input Scheme and would be the buyer of last resort, with ZMX as the buyer of choice, which allows price discovery starting this marketing season.
“What we have observed is that farmers, be they commercial, A1, or communal, have grain. But because GMB is no longer playing its traditional aggregation role, they are stuck with it,” Mr Zakariya said.
Traditionally, 80 percent of the grain comes from smallholder farmers, and GMB, with its buying depots, had collection points across the country, making it easier for farmers to deliver maize. However, with the new marketing model, where GMB is no longer buying the bulk of the grain, farmers are stuck with their maize harvest.
Mr Zakariya noted that grain millers are unwilling to absorb the aggregation cost from smallholder farmers and would rather import.
“Some have given excuses of poor roads and have also complained about the distance to some communal areas, and this has affected the supply of maize. Otherwise, there is plenty of maize in the country,” he explained.
Mr Zakariya said the other issue is that the price at which GMB is buying maize is much higher than what millers are willing to pay, and this has also led to them preferring to import.
For the 2024/25 summer season, the GMB’s approved producer price is US$376,48/MT for maize, while the import parity is approximately US$335 per tonne.
He pointed out that middlemen are taking advantage of desperate farmers and buying maize at a pittance. “There is a need for a grain aggregator as private millers are not willing to take on the aggregation cost,” he stressed.
Mr Zakariya suggested that GMB should perhaps be allowed to move in and close the grain aggregation gap.
The Zimbabwe Mercantile Exchange has, however, made efforts to close the aggregation gap and has set up grain purchasing points near farmers to ensure a smooth marketing process.
ZMX chief executive officer, Mr Collen Tapfumaneyi, said “ZMX had definitely seen an improvement in terms of grain supplies when compared to last year, with supplies still coming through”.
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