GMB Fails To Pay Wheat Farmers

The Government has reportedly failed to release funds to the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) to enable it to pay wheat farmers for deliveries to the parastatal.

A farmer in Banket, Mashonaland West Province, speaking to NewsDay anonymously, accused GMB of making false promises. He said:

We are into the festive season and workers look forward to us paying them but GMB has not paid us.

Besides the Christmas holiday, every parent needs school fees early next year. We are not happy at all.

Another farmer said that only one farmer in Karoi, also in Mash West Province, was paid recently due to pressing health issues. He said:

Indeed, GMB has not paid us for the outstanding winter wheat.

Only one farmer who has health challenges was paid recently. We have failed to buy inputs for this farming season and are in a fix over the delays by GMB.

However, GMB chief executive officer Edison Badarai claimed that the parastatal has started paying wheat farmers. He said:

On the US dollar component, the payments have been largely paid, except for US$2.8 million which will be liquidated in no time.

Winter wheat intake has also commenced with ZWL$59 million paid so far.

GMB would like to apologise for the delayed payment to our resilient and committed farmers spearheading the agriculture revolution that has seen Zimbabwe attaining food self-sufficiency.

Zimbabwe produced over 465 000 tonnes of wheat in the 2023 winter wheat season, thereby surpassing the previous record of 375 000 tonnes attained in 2022.

The country requires about 360 000 tonnes of wheat for national consumption annually and this year’s winter wheat crop is 100 000 tonnes more than national demand.

GMB’s failure to pay grain farmers on time may scuttle the progress the country has been making in recent years to be self-sufficient.

More: Pindula News