ZFU TRAINS COTTON FARMERS ON BUSINESS PRINCIPLES

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3 years ago admin

By Margaret Kamba

Zimbabwe Farmers Union ZFU has begun a pilot programme to train cotton farmers on business principles in a move aimed at ensuring the growth of the industry.

The organisation’s Secretary General Paul Zakariya said the concept being implemented in Southern Africa will ensure the adoption of business principles in cotton production.

“It is a concept that has been introduced in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique where we are emphasizing on the adoption of business principles in cotton production. Although the pilot is targeting women and youths to begin with, it can be replicated and upscaled to all categories of cotton producers. The pilot interrogates production trends over a very long period till now, with the view to identify gaps that, in a participatory manner with the growers, solutions can be applied,” Zakariya said.

“One of the key things that have been identified, within the Zimbabwean context, is a total lack of value addition at the farm level. We sponsored 120 demo sites that are being used as learning sites. Farmers are coming to the demo sites to pick production practices that will ensure that cotton yields and quality are enhanced.”

The Secretary added that “an appendage to the pilot is the need to encourage farmers to value add. However, this can only happen if we encourage farmers to produce free cotton. In Zambia, cotton farmers that are producing free cotton using portable ginneries to separate lint from the seed. They are immensely benefiting from the lint and seed. They are able to use hand looms to produce cloth for local and export markets.”

He also said that a “way has to be found to seriously follow this in Zimbabwe. That will ensure that farmers put more money in their pockets, thus fulfilling Vision 2030 of an Upper Middle Income Status for all.”

He added that there is “still need to open up opportunities for our private sector to contract farmers but ensure that we eventually aim to achieve zero-lint exports, allow farmers to enjoy the sweat of their brow and stop exporting jobs and foreign currency.”