Conrad Mupesa in Mhangura
Soyabean farmers have lauded Government for increasing the crop’s producer price and commended efforts by the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) to pay them expeditiously.

Government recently increased the soyabean producer price from $610 to $780 per tonne in a bid to promote production of the crop and ensure national food security.

In a similar positive move, GMB, which is mandated to buy grain from the farmers, is also acting swiftly in paying for the delivered crop.

In an interview, Mhangura farmer Mr Leeford Takawira hailed President Mnangagwa’s administration for pro-actively supporting agricultural production.

“We are grateful to the new dispensation’s moves in promoting us as farmers,” he said. “Government has seen that we as farmers were not getting enough from our farm produce, hence the need to increase prices.”

Mr Takawira said the new price would be motivational for the farmers to increase productivity next season.

His counterpart from the area, Mr Patrick Chesepo, said the new prices would also assist farmers prepare for the next season.

“An organised farmer would start preparing for the next season and unlike in the past where we would have problems buying inputs, the prices can afford a farmer to buy these in time,” he said. Mrs Mary Mairos also hailed the GMB for paying farmers on time.

“The GMB has transformed after we endured delays in getting our dues,” she said. “At the moment, instead of waiting for up to three months to be paid we are paid within 72 hours after delivering our crop.

“I recently delivered three tonnes of soyabeans to Mhangura GMB depot and received a bank alert message three days later.”

However, the farmers expressed fears of rebound effects on the inputs prices due to the producer soyabean prices.

Some soyabean products like cooking oil and stock feeds have since shot up in most retail outlets.

“We are afraid that the soyabean prices would lead to inflation of farming inputs,” Mr Afraim Janhi said.

Government has, however, allayed these fears, saying the high producer price was a deliberate measure to boost soyabean production.

Oil processing companies are currently in negotiations with Government so that they buy soyabeans at import parity price of $400 per tonne in a bid to maintain the price of cooking oil and other related products at levels affordable to consumers.