Elita Chikwati Agriculture Reporter
Current grain producer prices being offered by Government are an incentive to encourage farmers to continue producing food, a senior Government official has said.
Government, through the Grain Marketing Board, offers $390 and $500 per tonne for maize and wheat respectively. These prices are above regional prices. Responding to questions from senators on Thursday, Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Deputy Minister (Livestock) Cde Paddy Zhanda said Government has set $500 per tonne as the price for wheat and this was exceptional to Zimbabwe.
“This is to try and incentivise farmers to grow wheat because if we grow a lot of wheat, we cannot export it at $500. The same applies to the $390 per tonne for maize. This is a subsidised price that Government is using to incentivise farmers to grow maize as well as wheat but our farmers are failing to do that.
“Government has put these incentives because by offering such a good price to farmers they can be encouraged to grow those crops,” he said.
Deputy Minister Zhanda said Government did not have any programme to fund wheat production and encouraged farmers to venture into contract farming.
“Government funding for wheat production is not an annual event. It is Government policy that winter wheat will be grown every year through irrigation. Those that can irrigate are urged to grow wheat. It should not be the Government’s responsibility to fund winter cropping of wheat,” he said.
He said Government had allowed contract farming.