daglous masveta
Edgar Vhera
Agriculture Specialist Writer
GOVERNMENT has introduced a cocktail of measures to increase seed cotton yields for the 2024/25 season and set the cotton industry on course to reclaim its yesteryear glory.
Speaking during a recent ZBC television ‘Face the Nation’ current affairs programme, Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development permanent secretary, Professor Obert Jiri said farmers must be given minimum inputs to allow them to produce viable yields.
“Various contractors in the cotton sector must give farmers a minimum input packages that produce viable yields and move the country out of the current low yield trap.
“If yields are low, it’s not possible for a smallholder farmer to produce and get a profit,” Prof Jiri said.
Abuse of inputs under the Presidential Input Programme (PIP) used to be rampant in past years, which saw the Government coming up with a fool proofed implementation matrix for the 2024/25 season’s Pfumvudza programme.
“We have put in a combination of measures, which have significantly lowered the problem of input abuse. Measures such as e-input distribution by the Agricultural Marketing Authority (AMA), better targeting of beneficiaries and use of distribution committees have worked well this season,” continued Prof Jiri.
Before start of the 2024/25 season, the Government came up with implementation modalities for the climate proofed Presidential cotton inputs programme.
Under the arrangement, all inputs will be delivered to common input distribution points (CIDPs) for their eventual movement to farmers by the Grain Marketing Board (GMB).
Cottco and Agritex officers will identify and select productive farmers for submission to IDCs.
The list will be categorised into the following six classes – farmers who delivered seed cotton to Cottco, farmers growing cotton seed crops with Cottco, farmers doing cotton demonstrations, institutions venturing into cotton production, youth and women clubs venturing into cotton production and village heads, headmen and chiefs doing cotton production.
GMB and Cottco will ensure all farmers sign contracts before they receive the first tranche of inputs.
GMB, Cottco, Agritex and AMA will all capture lists of farmers issued with inputs.
Agritex and Cottco will follow up on contracted farmers for crop establishment and monitoring.
Best cotton farmer for the 2021/22 season, Mr Smart Kambanje from Nembudziya under chief Makore in Gokwe district, applauded Government for giving them enough inputs for better yields.
“I planted four hectares of cotton and was given four bags of basal fertiliser, 20 kilogrammes of seed, chemicals and will get two bags of top-dressing fertiliser for every hectare.
“Input distribution was very strict this year and the right farmers got them and we are likely to get a bumper harvest if the current good condition of the crop is anything to go by,” he said joyfully.
Mr Kambanje in his field yesterday
Mr Kambanje is expecting a yield of 3 000 kilogrammes of seed cotton per hectare.
Another farmer doing commercial seed cotton production, Mr Lyben Sithole of Munepasi Village in Ward 26 of Chipinge, concurred that GMB was giving adequate inputs for every hectare although he had to spread inputs for six hectares to cover 12.
“I was given 30 bags of basal fertiliser but I spread it over 12 hectares and the crop is looking good.
“I hope GMB will give me 24 bags of top-dressing fertiliser for a bumper yield,” he said.
The Cotton Company of Zimbabwe’s (Cottco) area manager for Chiredzi only identified as Mr Manhando corroborated Mr Sithole’s sentiments in a recent X (formerly Twitter) post in which he posted images of the crop in the 12-hectare field.
leeroy mupariri
