Union warns small farmers against being used as fronts ;
www.sundaymail.co.zw 10/8/2002
Chief Reporter Emilia Zindi
INDIGENOUS Commercial Farmers’ Union (ICFU) president Mr Davidson Mugabe has
warned small-scale farmers not to be used by former white commercial farmers
who want to hold the Government to ransom in a bid to have the selling price
of tobacco increased.
His comments come in the wake of reports that former white farmers were
behind the recent violence at tobacco auction floors which caused temporary
closure of the floors.
Mr Mugabe said his organisation wondered why smallholder tobacco farmers
would call for a price increase of the crop now when most of them had
finished selling their crop.
The only farmers who were still delivering their crop to the floors were the
white commercial farmers.
"Most, if not all, smallholder farmers had sold off all their crop. So who
are they protesting for? Who are they doing it for when it is the white
commercial farmers who still have their tobacco?" asked Mr Mugabe.
He urged indigenous farmers to remember that the effects of the closure of
auction floors were detrimental to the economy, which was already in bad
shape.
Mr Mugabe said the Zimbabwe Tobacco Association (ZTA), which some indigenous
farmers had joined, had an all-white constitution since 1890. There was no
room for black people until in March this year when the organisation held a
special congress to amend the constitution and allow indigenous farmers to
become members.
Mr Mugabe said there are 7 500 black farmers who had become members of ZTA
against 600 white commercial farmers. Surprisingly the white commercial
farmers, despite being out-numbered by the indigenous farmers, were still in
control of the organisation's day-to-day running.
"We now suspect that the reason for including the smallholder farmers in the
ZTA constitution was to use them to fight the Government,'' he said.
He encouraged members of other farmers’ unions not to engage in violent
protests, particularly when Government was considering farmers' cases.
He said up until now, most of the farmers' requests to Government had
received positive response.
The concern by farmers for an increase in the price they were receiving was
genuine, as what they were getting was enough to pay off what they borrowed
but not enough to grow the next crop.
"It is all about viability. We as a union have taken the matter up with the
Ministry of Finance to see whether farmers can be relieved,'' said Mr
Mugabe.
He said while some people had called for the devaluation of the dollar, the
danger was that the cost of growing the crop would also increase.
Mr Mugabe said his organisation had suggested possible solutions to the
Ministry of Finance and Economic Development.
Among the solutions was for the Government to allow a special exchange rate
for tobacco farmers.
He said his organisation was pleading with Government to put forward the
same incentives on tobacco, as was the case with gold.
"There is a gold incentive, why not do the same on tobacco because the two
are sources of foreign currency earnings?" he asked.
Mitayo Potosi
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