GMB Announces New Producer Prices
The Grain Marketing Board (GMB) announced a new payment structure for grains on Friday, which will see farmers receive US dollar payments upon delivery of their produce.
As reported by The Sunday Mail, maize and traditional grains will fetch US$390 per tonne, with sunflower seeds earning US$713 per tonne, up from US$696.
The producer price for soya beans has been set at US$620 per tonne, up from US$580.
In the past, GMB paid farmers a mixture of US dollars and local currency for their crops.
Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union (ZCFU) president, Shadreck Makombe welcomed the announcement. He said:
This is going to have a positive impact and that is exactly what we were asking for all these years. The government is sensitive to the farmers’ plight. This means we are moving forward as a team.
We applaud Government for that and it is up to us as farmers to do what we know best, that is to produce for national food security.
Edson Badarai, CEO of the Grain Marketing Board, said that farmers will now be paid for their delivered produce within 21 days. He said:
We are encouraging farmers to deliver maize and other grains to GMB and payment will be made within 21 days.
Having our silos full will ensure that the whole nation is well-fed and no one will die of hunger as promised by President Mnangagwa.
This comes two weeks after GMB said it had cleared a payment of US$3.29 million to farmers who delivered wheat, maize and other grains during the past winter and summer seasons respectively.
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