Govt reintroduces Agric Commodities Monopoly
GOVERNMENT is set to establish the Agriculture Commodities Monopoly which will result in the formation of three new agricultural parastatals, Agriculture Minister Dr Joseph Made, has revealed.
Plans are afoot to establish the Cold Storage Commission (CSC), Cotton Marketing Board (CMB) and the Dairy Marketing Board (DMB), with a view to providing farmers with a fair share of local and export markets at competitive process, among other benefits.
The parastatals were commercialised in the 1990s in conformity with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund demands for the Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (ESAP) financial support.
Dr Made said private companies like Cottco, Dairibord Holdings Limited and Cold Storage Com- pany of Zimbabwe Limited, which succeeded the parastatals would continue to exist.
“In the past, except the Grain Marketing Board (GMB), which is still in existence, we used to have the Cold Storage Commission, which is now the Cold Storage Company of Zimbabwe.
“The latter will remain in existence, while we establish the Cold Storage Commission (CSC).
“We are also going to establish the Cotton Marketing Board (CMB), while the Cotton Company of Zimbabwe will also remain in existence.
“Dairibord Holdings Limited will continue to exist as a private company, while we form the Dairy Marketing Board (DMB),” said Dr Made.
CSC and DMB will, among other things, be tasked to develop the country’s beef and dairy industries in general and to promote the sectional economic interests of respec- tive producers in particular.
The boards, if managed properly, can play a crucial role in enabling development in their respective sectors of the economy to produce desired economic goals commensurate with the country’s development strategy.
Their success in advancing former white farmers’ interests demonstrates that these parastatals can be effectively used as instruments for economic empowerment newly resettled farmers.
Dr Made said the boards would consolidate Government monopoly, particularly towards supporting and empowering farmers.
He said Treasury would exclusively fund the boards to cushion farmers from parasitic middlemen.
“We want to render strong support to the farmers. If we render specific support to you, you won’t sell elsewhere, but to us because we would have financed your production. We want to be in a strong position to pay back to those who would have financed the crop.
“All companies that will require raw materials will buy from these boards. We will not allow them to buy directly from farmers. We are doing this to uplift the living standards of our farmers.
“Farmers will no longer be tormented by middlemen as this arrangement will put proper order in the agriculture sector and guarantee strong support for farmers,” said Dr Made.
“The prices at which these boards will buy agriculture commodities will demonstrate our commitment to empower farmers. We will make sure these boards pay competitively and on time. The Treasury has and will provide the resources for that.
“When industry requires anything from any of the boards, they will pay directly to the Treasury, not the boards. The Treasury will then issue a voucher that will be tendered for drawdown to the specific board,” said Dr Made.