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Chaos in the Agricultural sector
Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ)
Extracted from Weekly Media Update 2004-27
Monday July 5^th – Sunday July 11^th 2004

CONTRARY to government claims that its controversial agrarian reforms have been a success and a catalyst to the country’s economic turnaround, reports highlighting symptoms of an ailing agricultural sector continued to find space in the media.

Most prominent was the protracted dispute between the newly resettled cotton farmers and the commercial buyers of cotton, particularly the Cotton Company of Zimbabwe (Cottco), over the producer price of the cash crop, which is now the country’s main foreign currency earner following the demise of the once vibrant tobacco industry.

Cotton buyers were reportedly refusing to budge to the farmers’ demands that they should increase their buying price from $1,800 to $3,000 per kilogramme of cotton.

Although all media reported on the issue, none of them fully gave a cohesive background to the price-row impasse and comprehensively explained its root causes.

ZBC was worse. It chiefly viewed the problem as part of a conspiracy by elements bent on derailing government’s land reforms. ZTV (5/7, 6pm) first hinted at this when it quoted Agriculture Minister Joseph Made as threatening to "intervene" if the cotton farmers and buyers failed to agree on the pricing within seven days. The nature of government’s intervention was however not specified although the station cited "agricultural experts" urging the authorities to investigate the disagreement between the two "since there are elements who (sic) want to reverse the land reform programme".

And its main bulletin of the same day, ZTV developed this further when it reported analysts as having accused buyers of "of under-invoicing and sabotaging the Land reform programme" although none of the buyers was accorded the right of reply.

In fact, Cottco’s initial refusal to buy cotton from the farmers provided ZBC with a chance to advance its conspiracies on the possible reason behind the pricing impasse. For example, ZTV, Power FM and Radio Zimbabwe (6/7, 8pm) politicised Cottco’s resolution when it quoted unnamed farmers condemning the move as an act of sabotage.

Power FM quoted unnamed farmers describing the action "as nothing short of sabotage" while ZTV cited unnamed observers depicting it "as consistent with organisations playing opposition politics sponsored by the British and Australians in their numerous attempts to discredit the country".

The Herald (10/7) did not make the situation any better. It strangely argued that the slump in international price for cotton from US 71 cents to about US60 cents per kilogramme was irrelevant as "this is not the true price merchants sell the lint as they get a premium price, which is higher". The paper seemingly took the side of the farmers saying they had a "strong case for an increased producer price", adding that "farmers are not greedy in demanding a higher price as buyers have over the years made super profits at their expense".

The Financial Gazette differed, noting that the fall in international cotton prices was one of the reasons for the stalemate but did not fully explain how that would affect the merchant’s profit margins if they were to cave in to the farmers’ demands.

The Independent quoted Cottco Corporate Communications executive Maria Pangidzwa dismissing the government media’s view that cotton buyers were short-changing farmers. Said Pangidzwa: "Those farmers who are demanding an increase in the producer price of cotton are covering up for their failure to produce maximum quantities on their pieces of land". MDC’s shadow agriculture minister Renson Gasela was also quoted in the same story blaming government’s "agricultural mismanagement" for the dispute.

In fact, the Gazette reported that government was mulling plans to "forcibly acquire" Cottco, in a move described by the paper’s unnamed sources as "an emotional decision which lacks reasoning and economic basis". However, Agriculture Minister Joseph Made denied the report.

But as the problems in the cotton industry threatened to cause havoc in the agricultural sector so did the confusion surrounding the illegal invasion of the few remaining productive farms in the country. For example, SW Radio Africa (5/7) and The Standard reported two fresh farm invasions by ZANU PF militia at the instigation of state security agents and top government officials. The invaded properties comprise of a citrus farm in Mkwasine, which exports oranges to Russia and Newton Farm in Wedza, which is reportedly the country’s largest vineyard. The government ignored these reports.

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