The Sunday Mail
. . . as cotton farmers sneeze on falling prices
Africa Moyo recently in GOKWE
AT the crack of dawn, almost daily, hordes of people trek into Gokwe town from surrounding villages, men carrying sacks and women lugging on their heads reed-woven baskets loaded with fruits and vegetables for sale.
This is one of the many ways in which villagers here earn a living after months of back-breaking work in their agricultural fields, where cotton farming and high income once made all this unnecessary.
Thirty years ago, Gokwe district – home to more than 500 000 people – was lauded in Government economic planning circles as “the district of the day after tomorrow” – based on projections that small-scale cotton farmers would drive its then backwater economy into fast, high and sustainable growth.
For about a decade to the mid 1990s, this dream came true for many households.
The sweat of seven months of summer cropping was paid back in hefty sweet dollars – prices averaged US$2 843 in 1980 per tonne back then.
Today, the story is completely different.
Cotton farmers say they toil for between very little and nothing, with a tonne of cotton plunging to US$1 622 in 1997.
Cotton growing is credited for propelling Gokwe, which was basically a Government station housing a district commissioner, police, hospital, veterinary services and other rural agencies, into gaining town status.
After being earmarked in the 1980s by Government as one the key growth points targets, a district which had lagged behind in the past partly due to tsetse fly infestation blossomed as private investors cashed in on the cotton boom.
Since the early 1980s, Zimbabweans have been relocating to Gokwe from various parts of the country to have a crack at cotton growing, which brought fame to the area.
And given the amount of business generated from the cotton industry, the “white gold”, as the crop was known during its heyday, was primed to anchor Gokwe’s growth into a major town punctuated by high rise buildings and anything associated with a city.
However, times have changed and villagers are disappointed by proceeds from cotton growing and are steadily venturing into other cash crops such as chillies and the arduous brick moulding in a desperate bid to bust the challenges brought by falling cotton prices.
Ms Jennifer Moyo, who lives in Chitekete, Gokwe North, says she relocated to the Midlands province together with her family in 1984 when she was 14 years old.
Ms Moyo is originally from Gutu.
And since the family’s arrival in Gokwe, cotton growing was the source of livelihood and she carried that into her new home upon marriage.
“We were able to acquire a couple of items such as ploughs, cattle, a bicycle and kitchen utensils. I remember at one point we had 16 cattle, all bought through cotton proceeds in the late ‘90s.
“But cotton prices have, in recent years, been plummeting to levels that do not encourage any serious farmer to grow the crop on a large scale anymore. Most of the livestock we bought has been sold to raise money for food and to send children to school.
“My neighbours also cannot send all their children to school anymore. As you can see, I have now resorted to moulding bricks to supplement the little we are getting from cotton,” said Ms Moyo. It is a similar story with fellow villager Mr Elias Sinan’andu (45), who also lives in Chitekete and started growing cotton in 1999.
Mr Sinan’andu recalls that he only got decent returns from the crop twice – in 1999 and 2011.
Since then, prices have been going south, and everything that was acquired is now being romanticised as the glory days have taken a sabattical. The price drops have forced growers and buyers on each other’s case, this climaxed in 2010 when growers refused to sell their crop at US$0,30c per kilogramme. Instead, they demanded US$1,50 per kg, forcing Government to intervene. The price was then set at US$0,33c for the lowest grade and US$0,42c for the highest grade.
“Ever since I started cotton farming in 1999, I only enjoyed the benefits twice, in the first year and in 2011. That is when we had better prices for cotton to the extent that I was able to buy eight beasts and two bicycles.
“From 2012 onwards, prices have been coming down to about 35c per kilogramme and many people in my neighbourhood have been forced to sell their cattle so that they pay school fees for their children and buy food during times of drought.“ I no longer have any of the eight beasts that I bought in 2011, together with the bicycles; they are all gone. Most of my neighbours also have no more cattle; those that have cattle own at least two or three cattle from the large herds they previously had,” said Mr Sinan’andu.
While those that started farming in the early ‘80s got some reward, spare a thought for 34-year-old farmer Mr Trust Makovere, also originally from Masvingo province. Mr Makovere says he has known no decent cotton price since he started growing the crop five years ago, and his family’s living standards have deteriorated. “The cotton pesticides we buy from local shops are not effective as they cannot adequately deal with the red ball worm which destroys the crop especially at the flowering stage.
“The retailers tell us that they get the pesticides from Harare but we wonder why the pesticides are not helping us realise decent yields so that we make up for the low prices.
“As you can see, this current crop has been adversely affected by the red ball worm despite applying pesticides and hopes for a decent yield have disappeared. You can only imagine what I will get given the poor prices,” said Mr Makovere.
Two seasons ago, Mr Makovere was able to buy five goats after selling his cotton but he sold the livestock barely three months down the line as hunger started stalking the family.
Mr Makovere said contractors – who provide them with seed and pesticides – sweep away the little they get. In extreme cases, contractors grab property including scotchcarts, bicycles and livestock, to recoup their investment when farmers fail to get adequate cash from cotton sales.
Until the liberalisation in 1994, the cotton sector was a duopoly under the ambit of Cotton Company and Cargill. The companies were accused of collusion in setting up producer prices and determining the cost of inputs provided on credit.
While input costs are high in Zimbabwe, research has shown that local farmers get 10 to 15 percent of the global producer price while Zambians get 20 to 40 percent.
Growers say the biggest challenge in Zimbabwe is that cotton prices are not known until the marketing stage.
This has driven farmers into poverty, and left them reluctant to increase cotton hectarage.
Said Mr Makovere: “I am now tired of working for nothing. Cotton farming has not rewarded me in the last five years and it is high time Government intervened and set prices as they do with maize. Instead of helping the farmers, cotton farming is now plunging villagers into huge debts and people are losing the little they acquired in the last few years when prices were relatively better. If nothing of significance does not happen in the short term, cotton hectarage will continue to crumble.”
In 2000, the country achieved 353 000 metric tonnes of cotton and earned US$200 million.
And output has been nose-diving, from 283 000 tonnes in 2012 to 125 000 tonnes in 2013 as growers protest the low prices. Gokwe Town Council is also smarting from the turn in fortune.
Residents previously depended on a good cotton selling season to get some money through the sale of various items to farmers.
Others would play various roles in the sale of cotton and still get meaningful reward, but all that has changed, and they can no longer settle their debts on time, if at all. Gokwe Town Council chief administration officer Mr Alexander Nyandoro told The Sunday Mail Business last week that the council has been negatively affected by low cotton prices, and is owed about US$1,6 million in rates by residents. “It is true that Gokwe Town has been affected by both low cotton prices and the current economic challenges being faced by Zimbabwe as a country.
“. . . they are directly hitting hard on revenue collection (and) at the moment council is owed around US$1,6 million by residents, business community and Government departments.
“This is a very serious challenge considering that our total budget is US$3,4 million. We are currently embarking on a friendly debt recovery method where voluntary debt collectors are mobilised from wards.
“These were trained in public relations and use appropriate methods of encouraging residents and the business community to pay their arrears,” said Mr Nyandoro. Mr Nyandoro said council “understands the plight” of residents, hence the adoption of the debt recovery strategy, which has been fairly “effective without traumatising residents”.
According to the 2012 population census, the town has 24 136 residents. It has six suburbs that include Green Valley (low density), Njelele (high density), Mapfungautsi (high density), Sasame (low density), Cheziya (medium density) and Nyaradza (medium density). Gokwe South district administrator Ms Rosemary Chingwe also conceded that low cotton prices are “demoralising farmers to the extent that cotton production is very low this season”.
She said farmers do not understand that prices are determined on international markets, hence the need for them to move towards increasing yield per hectare and diversifying, instead of expecting higher prices.
“Previously, a farmer would grow cotton on a small piece of land, for instance, a hectare and they got something significant from even three bales but now they actually face problems going back to the fields in the next cropping season.
“So when they increase crop hectarage, at least they get a little bit more money because when prices are falling on the international market, there is nothing that we can do here.
“Brazil produces cotton in bulk and we need our farmers to move towards the same so that they benefit from what we call economies of scale. When our farmers produce in bulk, they get money to see them go back to the farm, to repay loans and get profits and be able to send children to school,” said Ms Chingwe.
Ms Chingwe said hectarage has gone down this year compared to the past due to low prices and erratic rains, adding that doubts linger over Gokwe’s capacity to be the centre of attraction during the cotton selling season.
“At the moment, cotton is at the flowering stage and I doubt very much that all roads will lead to Gokwe. Our farmers have been affected, not just cotton farmers, but all other crops have been affected by a shortage of rains.”
Ms Chingwe said the obtaining low cotton prices have affected farmers, ratepayers and the business community.
She said supermarkets opened shop on the strength of cotton growing while cross-border traders also came to sell their wares.
“I think there is need for diversification and crop yield per hectare should also be improved.
“The town has been growing and it is still growing but there is need for diversification, for instance, we have seen some farmers are now trying to grow tobacco and others are trying chillies for export.
“In other words, we don’t have to look forward to one crop. There is also need for value addition and beneficiation in line with Zim-Asset.
“In Gokwe, when you look at groundnuts, honey and dairy farming, there are good prospects for value addition. Of course dairy farmers have their challenges but they are adding value by making yoghurt and supplying milk to local supermarkets.
“Horticulture is doing well to the extent that if we were canning tomatoes, for instance, farmers would get more as opposed to just selling for a song when there is high supply,” said Ms Chingwe.
Meanwhile, the town has generally failed to grow in line with what was earlier envisaged. Buildings have been growing horizontally instead of vertically. The only bright spot in terms of infrastructural development is the new town council office which is expected to be ready for occupation by May this year.
Council has invested about US$215 752 into the project and a further US$28 500 has been budgeted this year. All the funds have been generated by the council. The DA believes it is high time for Gokwe to have high rise buildings.
“In terms of modern buildings, we should move towards high rise buildings to give an atmosphere of a modern town.
“As it stands, I feel like I am in a huge growth point so we need tall buildings and even robots in Gokwe,” said Ms Chingwe.
