Moses Ziyambi
Small holder sugarcane farmers who benefitted from the Land Reform Programme are in for great tribulation with falling cane prices and an increasingly uncertain environment straining the viability of the industry.
Government recently announced a major policy shift that will see most A2 farmers, the category under which cane farmers fall, having their plots reduced to A1 sizes to bring in more players and increase capacity utilization.
Zimbabwe Farmers Union (ZFU) Masvingo Provincial Manager Jeremiah Chimwanda said farmers were finding it hard to access credit lines as lenders were now more cautious.
“It is not easy to get credit anymore because the industry is struggling. The quality of cane has declined of late and that has significantly impacted the revenue of our farmers,” he said
He also indicated that much of the cane needs re-establishment, an exercise that requires significant capital investment.
“Depending on its type, cane has to be re-established after a period of around nine to twelve years, something that’s proving to be quite a challenge under the prevailing conditions,” he said.
Sugarcane farmer
Sugarcane farmer, Talent Majoni blamed falling market prices and the tax regime levied on farmers for constraining the viability of the industry.
“Prices have fallen from $700 to around $517 per tonne within a short period of time yet input prices remain high. That has affected our financial standing to carry out our operations efficiently. On the other hand, ZIMRA is not helping matters; they are imposing high taxes on us the primary producers and they have obtained garnishee orders against many farmers who are struggling to pay,” said Majoni.
CBZ and Banc ABC are understood to have tightened the screws of lending owing to high defaulting rates and the uncertainty around the farmers security of tenure following government moves to downsize A2 plots.
“Things are not as smooth-flowing as we would want but we are optimistic. If all farmers could just get their priorities right we would be fine. Instead, you see some of us spending our incomes on luxury cars instead of reinvesting it. If you maintain a clean credit record, it would be easy to get more funding” said Admore Hwarare, a prominent cane farmer and former Chairperson of the Sugarcane Farmers Association. local
