The Sunday Mail
Enacy Mapakame
THE Association of Cotton Value Adders of Zimbabwe (ACVAZ), a grouping of all stakeholders involved in the cotton value chain, are targeting to increase cotton production by 166 percent in the next five years and grow lint exports to 90 000 tonnes per year from the current 55 000 tonnes.
Overall, earnings are projected to rise to US$150 million from between US$25 million and US$35 million.
By adjusting farming methods and insisting on the correct use of inputs, ACVAZ believes it will be able to increase output from farmers.
The current yield per hectare ranges between 400kg to 500kg. It is forecast that in five years production will rise to 1 200kg per ha.
ACVAZ chairman Mr Shadreck Muhoni told The Sunday Mail Business that engaging farmers at grassroots level, provision of funding and application of proper agronomic practices would increase yields.
“We have farmer representatives on our board we are working with. The farmer is at the base of the value chain and if there is little or no production going on at the farm, the whole value chain suffers.
“It is important to support the farmer at this stage to motivate them and enhance production. If we get everything right at the farm, then we can produce more, process it and increase exports,” said Mr Muhoni.
Comparatively, the present yield per hectare in Ethiopia, which has the continent’s fastest growing economy, stands at 1 700kg.
According to a 2015 study by the Austrian Foundation for Development Research on cotton-based development in Sub-Saharan Africa, average yields per hectare for the region in 2014/15 were 343kg, while North Africa had 739kg.
The yield per hectare in Mozambique, Tanzania and Burkina Faso stood at 274kg, 218kg and 434kg respectively.
The global average yield was 758kg.
The Austrian think tank believes cotton – which accounted for 10,5 percent of total Sub-Saharan agricultural exports in 2013, is one of the most important cash crops crucial for job creation, poverty reduction and foreign exchange generation.
Worryingly, Zimbabwe’s cotton production for 2015/2016 is projected to decline to 70 000 tonnes from the 120 000 tonnes registered in the previous season as the appeal of “white gold” continues to fade.
The number of cotton farmers has declined to less than 100 000 on poor funding and unattractive prices on international markets.
If ACVAZ’s plans materialise, the number of small-holder cotton farmers will rise to 250 000.
“We also want to grow export earnings in the next five years to at least US$150 million a year from between $25 million to US$35 million,” added Mr Muhoni.
A recent study by the Zimbabwe Economic Policy Analysis and Research Unit (Zeparu) on the country’s cotton-to-clothing value chain indicated that difficulties in doing business and perceptions of corruption had hurt the industry.
“Service provision of some of these is irregular, unreliable, costly and risky. The business then becomes price uncompetitive on both domestic and foreign markets,” said Zeparu.
Zimbabwe and other Sub-Saharan African countries, feature in the world’s top 20 exporters of the crop.
Zimbabwe has a market share of 0,8 percent followed by Tanzania and Mozambique who control one percent and 0,6 percent respectively.
Price fluctuations are high, which is related to farmers basing their planting decisions on the previous season’s prices.
Due to the high inter-seasonal price volatility, farmers switch between different cash crops and food production to maximise incomes and reduce risks.
