Wheat farmers in Zimbabwe’s Mashonaland West region are facing significant challenges due to outstanding grain payments, despite government assurances that all payments would be made by the end of last month.
As a result, many farmers are struggling with debt, unable to pay wages to farm workers, and facing difficulties maintaining their farming operations.
The Grain Marketing Board (GMB), under the auspices of the government, has yet to fulfill promises made by Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, and Rural Development Minister Anxious Masuka, leaving farmers in a precarious financial situation.
In interviews with affected farmers, they expressed their concerns and shared the hardships they face, including wage payment delays of up to six months for farm workers.
Despite a bumper harvest of 2.3 million tonnes of maize last season, surpassing the country’s annual requirement of 1.8 million tonnes, the delayed payments signify a lack of support from the government in recognizing and rewarding farmers’ contributions to the nation’s food security.
The farmers emphasized their disappointment with the unfulfilled promises, recounting that they had been assured of payment within 72 hours of delivery but have since been left waiting for months.
The situation is further complicated by the devaluation of local currency payments, as exchange rates have risen over 1,000% since October 2022, when wheat was initially delivered to GMB.
Farmers argue that they are not being justly compensated, with the government proposing a payment structure of 75% in US dollars and 25% in local currency.
SOURCE : THE STANDARD
