Zim News Blog -NEWS NETWORK

Year in, year out, it has become common to hear stories of grain farmers who lose out to unscrupulous middlemen who prey on cash-pressed growers and pay instant cash far below the price paid by the Grain Marketing Board (GMB).

They collect the grain and make their profit when they sell the grain to GMB or any other buyer requiring large quantities of maize.

But why do farmers deal with untrustworthy private dealers when there is the GMB with a specific mandate of buying grain from them to ensure national food security?

Why would a farmer accept $5 400 for a tonne for their hard-earned maize crop, while the GMB is paying $12 329,72 for the same unit?

It seems to defy logic, but the answer is simple.

The GMB’s systems may not be working efficiently enough to cater for the demands of all farmers in traditional farming areas and those resettled in some areas that were not meant for maize production.

And what do we mean by “demands of farmers?”

We are simply saying that the farmers want to sell their crop without hassles and without having to find transport.

Farmers can face insurmountable problems, or face a major struggle to sell their crop to the GMB, and thus opt for untrustworthy dealers, who would then, at times, end up selling that same maize to the GMB at the end of the value chain.

First, is the issue of accessibility.

Although GMB has a network of depots across the country, the very existence of middlemen shows that the depots are either inadequate or not strategically located to cater for the demands of all farmers.

GMB was established in 1931 as the Maize Control Board in response to the 1930 World Recession to address food insecurity challenges.

It was also created to serve the requirements of the colonial agriculture system.

At the time, and for several decades thereafter, Zimbabwe’s agricultural sector was dominated by a few white individuals dotted across the country, and these farmers wanted protection from black farmers who could grow the crop for a lower price.

But post-independence and especially after land reform at the turn of the century, there has been a significant shift in the overall outlook of the agricultural sector with indigenous Zimbabweans now making up the majority of farmers.

The indigenous farmers have taken over and are the ones producing all the maize to cater for both human and livestock consumption.

But the indigenous farmers are far more spread out across the country than the previous white farmers, which could be making it difficult for a number of farmers to access the available GMB depots.

In some cases, there are no access roads to the farms, and those dealers who risk their trucks going there end up charging below market prices to get the maize.

Middlemen are clearly taking advantage of the logistics problem being faced by these far-flung farmers by bringing trucks into these areas and buying maize at a very low price, which is prejudicing the farmers.

We reported yesterday that farmers, particularly in most parts of Mashonaland West, including Makonde, Zvimba and Hurungwe districts are being paid a small fraction of what they should be earning from their crops.

The GMB — which has 84 depots countrywide, 12 of them being silos — needs to open satellite depots in such areas and save the hapless farmers from these marauding dealers.

We also encourage the GMB to begin grain purchases early so that these unscrupulous middlemen do not cheat more from our farmers.

Delayed commencement of grain purchasing allows the dealers to move quickly into such areas and buy grains from desperate farmers that in some cases they resell to the parastatal.

But further than that, the GMB should expedite payments when farmers bring in their crop. There have been reports that the board can take months to process payments for farmers who managed to deliver their crop.

Most times, farmers need the money for subsistence and to prepare for the upcoming season, and delays in payments means they tend to struggle in this respect.

We encourage law enforcement to increase surveillance in areas that have seen increased numbers of these unscrupulous middlemen because if they are purchasing grain crop from farmers and diverting it to external markets, they are actually worsening food insecurity.

With the grain prices already attractive, the GMB needs to enhance its purchasing system to ensure that farmers feel incentivised to sell their produce to the board, which will also promote self sufficiency.

In our view, the GMB is not just a commercial entity, but a developmental or social institution as it helps to ensure food security in the country. It therefore has to play its roles effectively.

There must be mechanisms that ensure all grain produced is accounted for so that the country knows when to import or not given the scarcity of foreign currency.

We also propose that all farmers, no matter how small, should report to the nearest local government office or village heads the quantities they produce so that the country can have accurate records of food produced annually.

These figures help to identify desperate people who need State assistance.

The current arrangement where what villagers produce and store in their granaries has seen some undeserving people receiving state or donor assistance at the expense of desperate and needy cases.

Bulawayo Bureau
GOVERNMENT is committed to addressing Bulawayo’s perennial water challenges through the construction of the Gwayi-Shangani Dam project for which at least US$122 million has already been used under the Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP).

The project, which was initially scheduled to be completed in December 2021, is now expected to be finished in December 2022 after it was stalled by the global outbreak of Covid-19.

The dam site, which is located in Hwange District in Matabeleland North, is set to benefit the districts of Bulawayo, Binga, Lupane as well as communities staying along the proposed pipeline, which would be supplying water to Bulawayo.

Bulawayo is facing persistent water woes largely due to the effects of climate change.

The city’s six supply dams are located in Matabeleland South in the Umzingwane Catchment Area.

The dams hold about 300 million cubic metres of water.

Speaking during a site visit of the Gwayi-Shangani Dam project by Ministers of State for Bulawayo and Matabeleland North Provincial Affairs, Cdes Judith Ncube and Richard Moyo yesterday, Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) resident engineer, Mr Hassan Tobve said feasibility studies indicate that once complete, the dam, with a net holding capacity of 634 million cubic metres, will provide permanent water solutions to Bulawayo.

“After extensive investigations it was discovered that it was feasible to embark on the Gwayi-Shangani Dam project as a long-term solution to the water challenges in Bulawayo. The dam will have a net holding capacity of 634 million cubic metres of water, which is 1,8 times bigger than the capacity of the six supply dams in Matabeleland South,” he said.

Mr Tobve said the Gwayi-Shangani Dam water levels will be augmented by water pumped from the Zambezi River through a separate pipeline to Bulawayo.

The dam falls under the Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project (MZWP).

The dam is located about 245km from Bulawayo.

It is envisaged that water from the Gwayi-Shangani Dam will be conveyed to Bulawayo through a pipeline, which will be constructed with a series of booster water pumping stations along the way.

The dam has crest length of 345 metres and upon completion it is anticipated that the total size of the wall will reach 72 metres with a maximum depth of 59 metres.

The dam is going to be the third largest inland dam in the country after Tugwi-Mukosi and Lake Mutirikwi.

Construction of the dam is being carried out by the China International Water and Electric Corporation, which was awarded the tender by the Government.

“After the completion of the construction of the dam, there will also be the construction of a power station, which will contribute 10 megawatts to the national grid,” said Mr Tobve.

Gwayi-Shangani Dam is situated in region four, which is characterised by low rainfall patterns and high temperatures.

Minister Moyo, who was leading the delegation said Government under the Second Republic was committed to completing the project, which had been stalled for years during the previous regime.