Fungai Lupande Mash Central Bureau

Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement Minister Perrance Shiri has appealed to cotton farmers who have not yet received payment for their produce to be patient as Government is still investigating illicit deals that were being done via mobile money platforms.

Speaking at a familiarisation meeting with farmers in Shamva Minister Shiri said the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), which is currently auditing people who have been abusing the platforms, has promised to complete the exercise in the shortest period possible.

“Farmers have started delivering their cotton and they expect to be paid upon delivery. However the RBZ has put in place measures to monitor mobile money transactions,” he said.

“This was done to curb corruption in the mobile money sector, which had led to a spike in black market foreign currency exchange rates and prices of commodities. Unfortunately this led to the delay of payment for cotton farmers. We are appealing to farmers to be patient. These developments are necessary in addressing the economic issues and inflation induced by individuals. If this is not done things will get out of hand.”

He said he was hopeful that the move will yield positive results and bring economic saboteurs to book.

Cotton farmers, who spoke during the meeting, raised concern over the producer price, which they said was eroded by inflation and urged Minister Shiri to consider offering them all inputs for free.

“When we announced the producer price for cotton we heard that farmers were happy. When we asked for recommendations on cotton price they said $20 but after calculations and other considerations we came up with $43,94/kg,” he said.

“Cotton farmers must not forget that inputs and chemicals are free. However, you are free to come forward with your grievances but I want you to consider that when we came up with the prices we calculated using the cost build-up.”

Minister Shiri met with farmers in Bindura and Shamva on Saturday to interact and to give them an opportunity to get clarifications on issues and policies.