Zimbabwe: $10m Set Aside for Cotton Production

Source from:  The Herald (Harare) September 20, 2006 09/25/2006

THE Cotton Company of Zimbabwe (Cottco) has set aside in excess of $10 million to finance "white gold" production during the 2006/07 agricultural season under its contract farming scheme. Chief executive Mr Happymore Mapara indicated this week that between 65 000 and 70 000 farmers would benefit from the scheme. "This represents an increase from the last year's figure of about 50 000 farmers," the Cottco boss explained in an interview. "However, he was not in a position to give the projected hectarage that would be put under the crop, apart from saying it "would be very significant". Last year, the country's largest cotton company committed over $8 million under a similar scheme. Currently, Cottco was giving preference to its former contractees who successfully fulfiled the terms of their contracts while the door was open to new farmers. The funds would be channelled towards procurement of inputs such as fertilizers, chemicals and seeds. Over the years, Cottco along with other few companies played a pivotal role in financing cotton farmers, thereby keeping the industry afloat. Observers have pointed out that cotton production for this year was likely to increase after the National Cotton Council (NCC) upheld the October 5 2005 resolution stipulating that input supply be used as the criteria for the granting of export permits. Although there are about 14 registered merchants, production had remained depressed since only a handful of merchants were contributing towards production. In the recent years, cotton has threatened to overtake tobacco as Zimbabwe's major source of foreign currency. This year, cotton exports raked in US$102 million while US$108 million worth of tobacco was delivered to the country's auction floors. The two crops anchor the agricultural sector, the backbone of the economy. Enditem