GMB buying sub-standard wheat as shortages bite

By Lance Guma
14 December 2006

The weekly Financial Gazette reports that the Grain Marketing Board is buying rain-damaged wheat to try and replenish depleted stocks. The country’s sole grain trader normally does not accept this type of wheat as it is considered unsuitable for human consumption. This week however it’s reported that the GMB changed its policy and announced it would accept the sub-standard wheat. The GMB is already asking farmers to deliver the wheat to their depots and offering Z$217 000 per tonne according to the Financial Gazette.

A statement from the GMB says; ‘we are encouraging farmers to deliver all their wheat regardless of its state. The GMB depot managers throughout the country have been instructed to accept all the wheat and will unconditionally assist the farmers in this regard.’ The Financial Gazette says a critical shortage of combine harvesters has, ‘left a significant portion of the winter wheat crop exposed to the rains, pointing to yet more shortages of flour ahead.’ Analysts blame the violent land reform programme, which witnessed the theft and vandalism of expensive agricultural equipment and the complete destruction of Zimbabwe’s vital agricultural sector.

So far the GMB is reported to have only collected 120 000 tonnes of wheat compared to 350 000 tonnes which is considered adequate for national requirements. The current shortages were predicted by economic commentator Eddie Cross who last year told Newsreel that not enough wheat had been planted and that wheat farming was a very expensive industry that needed significant capital injections. Something government was clearly failing to provide.

Nelson Chamisa, a spokesman for the Tsvangirai MDC, says the government ‘loves to talk about farming while actually not farming.’ He says they distributed land ‘like Father Christmas,’ to Zanu PF chefs and current shortages were the result of that programme. Chamisa says the opposition believes land should have been distributed on the basis of need and not ‘having a black minority substituting a white minority.’ He said government moves to use the army to help the GMB collect about 1,8 million tonnes of grain clearly highlighted their level of desperation.