Several farmers belonging to Muzarabani district in Mashonaland Central province in Zimbabwe have reduced the area of cotton sowing this year on account of low price.
Cotton cultivators in the district have urged traders to increase the price of cotton to ensure viability. Normally, they sell their produce to the Cotton Company of Zimbabwe (Cottco), which assists them in procuring necessary inputs like fertilizers, seeds, etc.
The farmers are now urging Cottco to revise its cotton procuring price upwards so they can get reasonable remuneration for their effort.
The company officials, on the other hand, say that the price is determined by the international market price on which they do not have any control. Hence, they are asking farmers to increase yields per unit area if they want to earn good returns.
There are suggestions that farmers should consider contract farming, wherein the companies eager to purchase the crop should finance the farmers. This will not only ensure that the farmers will get inputs on time but they will also get a ready market.
In recent months, the issue of pricing has affected the Zimbabwean cotton industry. Last month, the price of cotton was reviewed downwards in line with the prices in the international market. The minimum support price was reduced to US 0.75c per kg from US 0.85c per kg agreed in March 2011.
After the reduction in minimum support price of cotton, while some farmers refused to sell their stock in the hope of getting better prices, others considered sowing other crops in place of cotton.
Fibre2fashion News Desk - India
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