Farmers in the Midlands province have taken a swipe at the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) for failing to pay for grain delivered to the parastatal.
By Stephen Chadenga
The farmers suggested that it was better if the government could give them control of GMB as a failure to pay them was negatively affecting their farming activities.
“It is better if government can give GMB to us as farmers, they have failed to pay for our grain and this is affecting our operations,” said one farmer at a Midlands Show Society-organised business conference in Gweru yesterday.
Last month scores of farmers stormed the parastatal’s Mutare depot demanding their grain back after it had failed to pay them.
Contributing on the same issue, Zanu PF MP for Zvishavane-Ngezi constituency John Holder asked what the Agriculture ministry was doing to restore farmers’ confidence in GMB.
Responding to the queries by farmers, provincial Agritex officer Peter Chamisa said the economic situation obtaining in the country was affecting operations at the parastatal.
“Because of the liquidity crunch, government is facing challenges in financing its operations and GMB is no exception,” Chamisa said.
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Chamisa, however, pointed out that it was not possible for GMB to be in the hands of farmers for national food security reasons.
He said GMB was a strategic grain reserve aimed at averting national disasters in times of emergencies.
GMB reportedly owes farmers $49 million for grain delivered during the 2013-14 marketing season.
Government says it will import 700 000 tonnes of maize this year after half of the 2014 to 2015 season maize crop was written off due to poor rainfall.
