FARMERS believe the new producer prices for wheat, which have been pegged at US$450 and US$470 per tonne for the standard and premium grades, respectively, and paid exclusively in United States dollars, will guarantee viability and boost capacity of the agriculture sector, especially after last year’s El Niño-induced drought.
Last season, farmers were paid US$440 per tonne in a split ratio of 75 percent in US dollars and 25 percent in the local currency at the prevailing interbank rate.
Grain Marketing Board chief executive officer Dr Edson Badarai yesterday told The Sunday Mail that the decision was meant to increase production and productivity.
“After exhaustive consultations with all stakeholders, the parastatal has come up with the decision to pay farmers exclusively in USD currency to encourage production and productivity.
“After having set the price, we added a US$20 incentive for premium-grade wheat. All these are efforts to ensure that food security is achieved every day, everywhere,” he said.
Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union president Dr Shadreck Makombe said the new producer prices would cushion farmers.
“We should give praise where it is due. We get loans in foreign currency and it was hard for us to pay back using local currency.
“We tabled our grievances and the issue was acted upon,” he said.
Zimbabwe National Farmers Union president Ms Monica Chinamasa said “farmers are impressed with how the season is unfolding”.
The country is projected to harvest a new national record of 600 000 tonnes of the cash crop, surpassing last season’s record of 468 000 tonnes.