Cotton farmers cry fowl

Farmers in both Gokwe North and South were left counting their losses after the heavy rains that pounded their area affected the cotton crop, resulting to it drying up.

 Last year, the farmers felt robbed after cotton buyers offered them less money for their crop, raising fears that the farmers would boycott growing cotton this season.

Provincial Agritex Officer, Mr Peter Chamisa confirmed the disaster, which has befallen Gokwe cotton farmers.

“Water logging has caused cotton to dry up. Recently I was in areas like Nemangwe and Chitekete, where the results are catastrophic. We held a meeting to address the situation, but nothing has come out,” he said.

In an interview yesterday, Chief Nemangwe, who is a supervisor of cotton producers in the Midlands, said cotton farmers especially in Gokwe North and South were seriously affected by the state of their crop.

Chief Nemangwe said the situation was so serious that the authorities have called for an emergency meeting to try and address the plight of the affected farmers. Most farmers get inputs like seed and chemicals on loan from cotton growing companies and are expected to repay after harvesting. So if their crops are affected so much, they wont be able to pay back the loans. This might also affect the whole nation`s cotton production and income generation since cotton is exported to other countries. What should be done about this? lets dicuss.