Story by Peter Chivhima
THE Cotton Company of Zimbabwe (COTTCO) has assured cotton farmers that funds have been secured for the procurement of the white gold this year.
The development came to light this Tuesday when COTTCO appeared before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development to provide oral evidence on the ministry’s preparedness for the current season.
COTTCO Chief Executive Officer, Mr Rocky Mutenha, confirmed that the company has already disbursed US$1.8 million towards procurement efforts.
“We have secured adequate funding for the purchase of cotton, and to date, we have already disbursed US$1.8 million towards procurement. The amount is part of broader efforts to ensure smooth operations and timely payments to farmers for the 2025 marketing season.”
The company also acknowledged that it still owes farmers who supplied cotton during the 2022–2023 farming season, highlighting that modalities are in place to clear the outstanding debt.
“We have already engaged the Mutapa Investment Fund and they have promised to clear the outstanding US$5 million debt we owe our farmers. We are also working with various banks so that we clear the debt,” Mr Mutenha noted.
It also emerged that the company has not been paying its workers for more than 10 months, with the portfolio committee noting the need for immediate action.
“We are pleased that the company has appeared before us and they revealed that they have secured funding for paying farmers. However, we are not happy that workers have not been paid for the past months although they promised that payments will start today,” Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee, Honourable Felix Soul Maburutse said.
The government is implementing a raft of measures to revive the cotton industry, including the Presidential Input Support Scheme, price incentives and farmer training programmes aimed at improving productivity and quality.
