Cotton farmers bemoan erratic rains

COTTON farmers in Gokwe said erratic rains that characterised the cotton farming season affected their targeted yield.

In an interview, farmers said they could have had a bumper harvest, if the rains were consistent.

Mr James Bagu, the village head for Bagu Village under Chief Mkoka, said although they failed to reach their targeted yield, they were happy with the cotton they produced.

“We recently finished harvesting cotton and our yield was lower than what we expected, which was caused by erratic rainfall patterns,” he said. “If the rains had been consistent, we could have surpassed the target.” Mr Bagu said although the yield was a bit lower than expected, they were generally happy about their produce. “Even though the yield was a bit lower than expected, we’re generally happy about our produce,” he said. “On average, one farmer produced about 15 bags of cotton, with each bag weighing 200kgs or more. “This means that each farmer produced about 3 tonnes, and were are happy about that.”

Another farmer, Mrs Ruth Sibanda, said they were happy following the increase in the cotton buying price granted by Government.

“We are very happy following the increment of buying price from 47c to 52c per kg,” she said.

“We are appealing to Government to review the price again in order to boost cotton production in the country, because some farmers are still reluctant to grow cotton due to low prices offered for the crop.”