7 November 2007
Maputo — Representatives of the Mozambican government's Cotton Institute (IAM), the cotton companies, and the associations of peasant farmers who grow the cotton are meeting on Friday in the northern city of Nampula to discuss the indicative price for the purchase of raw cotton from the farmers.
This is the first time the price has been subject to such a procedure. In the past the minimum cotton price was fixed each year by the National Wage and Price Commission, after consulting the IAM and the companies, but with almost no input from the producers.
IAM director Norberto Malambe told AIM it is fundamental to discuss the indicative price now, so that the producers know how much money to expect from the concessionary companies during the next cotton marketing campaign.
Farmers claim that the price paid by the companies is too low, with the result that some peasants in Nampula and Cabo Delgado provinces have abandoned cotton altogether, switching to grains and oilseeds instead.
The IAM believes that a price should be fixed that satisfies both the direct producers and the companies that provide inputs and purchase the raw cotton.
Currently about one and a half million people are involved in cotton production, and there are a dozen cotton concessionary companies. The Nampula meeting will also discuss the current model for encouraging cotton production, asking whether it really does serve the interests of all concerned, the farmers and the companies.
Malambe points out that cotton productivity is directly related to the use of improved seeds adapted to the various ecological conditions in Mozambique, and to the use of insecticides. But the poverty of peasant farmers means they cannot afford to buy these inputs, and no suppliers are prepared to take the risk of selling them on credit.
It thus falls on the shoulders of the concessionary companies to supply the seeds and the insecticides, recovering the money when the purchase the cotton from the farmers
This year the target for raw cotton production is 100,000 tonnes, but it is feared this target will be missed, thanks mainly to climatic factors, including unseasonal cold spells in cotton areas.
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