Story By John Nhandara
40 000 kilogrammes of cotton have been delivered to the Cotton Company of Zimbabwe, (COTTCO), since the onset of the 2023 cotton marketing season last month.
This year’s cotton marketing season has seen farmers delivering just over 42 000 kilogrammes of the white gold with COTTCO optimistic about meeting government’s target of 100 000 kilogrammes this marketing season.
Speaking to the ZBC News, Cottco Acting Accounting officer, Mr Munyaradzi Chikasha said the marketing season is going on very well as it reaches its peak.
‘We are on course to meeting our targets. We now have 42 458 kgs delivered one month into the marketing season. Last year we got 46 700 metric tonnes for the whole season and haven’t reached our full capacity so I would envisage that we will meet our target,” he said.
Mr Chikasha also took the opportunity to explain payment modalities for farmers and the availability of wool packs.
“This season we were directed to pay farmers 85 percent in foreign currency and 15 percent in local currency. So farmers should expect these payments. However, we had challenges making full payment of bales but we have managed to do a drawdown so these challenges will be a thing of the past,” he added.
Farmers have attributed the increase in cotton production to the presidential input programme.
“We need to applaud the Presidential Inputs Programme because it has enabled our farmers to increase their hectarage hence the revised figures of 100 thousand tonnes from as low as 46 thousand tonnes last season,” noted Chairperson – Cotton Producers and Marketers Association, Mr Stewart Mubonderi.
Cognisant of a drop in seed cotton production and its potential in transforming rural communities, government introduced the Presidential Cotton Scheme and the Pfumvudza cotton concept to stimulate production.
