By Chantelle Muzanenhamo
The Grain Marketing Board (GMB) has announced its Pre-Planting Producer Prices for the 2024/25 agricultural season, revealing a slight increase for maize and traditional grains compared to the previous year.
In a statement, GMB chief executive officer Dr. Edward Badarai disclosed that maize and traditional grains will now be purchased at USD $335.14 per metric tonne. During the 2023/24 season, these commodities were priced at USD $335.03 per metric tonne, marking an insignificant increase of USD $0.11 per tonne.
This adjustment reflects a commitment to maintain stability while supporting the agricultural sector.
Dr. Badarai emphasized that the newly announced prices aim to empower farmers by allowing them to make informed planting decisions well in advance of the planting season.
In addition to the slight increase in the prices of maize and traditional grains, the GMB has set a more improved price for soya beans a, it at USD $619.31 while sunflower lands at USD $712.20 per tonne down by 80 cents from the previous price of US$713.
Maize Farmers have been at loggerheads with GMB over the pricing of the staple crop arguing it does not do justice to the costs of production.Many of them have been shunning maize opting for cash crops like tobacco and the better paying small grains.