Published by the government of Zimbabwe
8 July 2009
Harare — Farmers who are battling poor prices on the market have sought the protection of the courts against crop buyers offering low prices.
A group of Karoi farmers have been granted a court interdict stopping a maize buyer from buying their produce at below US$265 per tonne, which is the gazetted price the Grain Marketing Board is offering.
Government has liberalised the marketing of maize with the GMB as the buyer of last resort.
A manager at Olam Zimbabwe (Pvt) Limited appeared in court at Karoi yesterday on a contempt of court charge after she allegedly ignored the court interdict granted to farmers to stop her company from buying maize at below the GMB floor price.
Disgruntled Karoi maize growers, led by Mr Never Gasho, filed an interdict against Olam Zimbabwe, blocking the firm, which was previously into cotton buying, from purchasing maize for less than the US$265 offered by the GMB.
Olam Karoi manager Florence Murigege was yesterday remanded out of custody on US$20 bail to July 20 for trial when she appeared before Karoi magistrate Mr Archbald Dingani.
The State, led by prosecutor Mr Benjamin Negato, alleges that on June 30, Mr Gasho and four other prosperous Karoi farmers -- Messrs Norman Madzima, David Marimo and Christopher Garande -- who were not in court, made an application for an interdict to stop the company from buying maize.
Murigege, who was represented by Mr Godfrey Mupaya of Masawi and Partners, allegedly continued buying the maize at US$200 per tonne despite being served with the papers.
The farmers wanted her to buy the maize at US$265 per tonne, the floor price being offered by the GMB.
Government early this year liberalised the grain market, but farmers in Karoi accuse Olam of taking advantage of their urgent need for capital, as the company is one of the few offering cash on the spot.
"The respondent's move is clearly to exploit the local farmers since it is offering less compared to the lowest gazetted price for maize per tonne," said Mr Gasho and his colleagues in the court application.
"What Olam is doing is a negation of the public policy consideration of Government to promote the farmer and promote production in the staple food."
Olam has been purchasing maize from Karoi farmers for US$200 per tonne since the liberalisation of the marketing of the staple grain.
Before that, farmers where required to sell their produce to GMB, but the parastatal has
reportedly been failing to pay farmers at point of sale.
However, Government has said it had sourced US$1,5 million for GMB to buy maize.
The Karoi farmers' application will be a test case given that some farmers, hard-pressed for cash, might consider the US$200 a fair price.
President Mugabe recently bemoaned the poor prices for crops such as cotton, which was changing hands at US30 cents per kg.
The President also lamented the poor prices paid by some companies which enter into contract farming deals.
However, tobacco farmers are making good money at the auction floors where the golden leaf is going for up to US$4,20 per kg depending on quality.
The tobacco earnings have transformed the lives of a considerable number of farmers, creating a gulf between them and their food crop counterparts.
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