Elita Chikwati Agriculture Reporter—
Farmers have delivered 26 950 tonnes of maize to the Grain Marketing Board this season with the parastatal cashing out $19,3 million between January and June 2015 for the deliveries, Finance and Economic Minister Cde Patrick Chinamasa has said. Presenting the Mid -Term Fiscal Policy on Thursday, Minister Chinamasa said farmers have so far delivered grain worth $10,5 million.

“Total budget expenditures on grain procurement were $77,1 million during the first half of the year.

“The bulk of this is related to payment of maturing Agricultural Marketing Authority bills worth $58,6 million. Direct payments to the GMB accounted for $18,5 million during the period January-June 2015,” he said.

He said outstanding payments to farmers for deliveries of grain to the GMB stood at $29,2 million, down from $48,5 million in January 2015.

“Treasury will prioritise payments to farmers for both outstanding and new deliveries as a way of enhancing confidence in delivering to the GMB, in addition to capacitating farmers for the next season.

“Payment of the outstanding $29,2 million will be undertaken and settled soon,” he said.

Meanwhile, AMA will soon float agro bills worth $55 million to raise funds to pay farmers who have delivered their grain to the GMB this season.

AMA chief executive officer, Mr Rockie Mutenha, said he was confident that the authority would raise the required money.

“The first time we floated bills worth $55 million and within three months we had raised $ 53 million. We then raised an additional $5million.

“We have built enough confidence on the market because every year we borrow and repay,” he said.

Mr Mutenha said AMA was in the process of making the proper arrangements to get approval from Government.

“We need to get borrowing authority and certificate from Government. We are trying to put all the security features in place. Once we get permission we will be on the market,” he said.

He said the peak for deliveries was usually between August and September when all farmers would have finished harvesting and drying their grain.

Most farmers are complaining over the long period taken by Government to pay for the grain deliveries and said this could affect preparations for the forth coming summer cropping season.

The deputy minister of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development, responsible for crops, irrigation and mechanisation, Cde Davis Marapira, assured farmers that Government was aware of their plight and would soon address the issue. “AMA will soon float bills and I am confident that in two to three months farmers will start receiving their money,” he said.