AFTER the Government issued a stern warning against side marketing at the inaugural cotton indaba last month, the Agricultural Marketing Authority has reacted swiftly to commence biometric farmer registration, which will help tame the illegal practice.
Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Deputy Minister, Vangelis Haritatos, warned AMA that the era of passive regulation in the cotton industry was over.
“You are not spectators, you are referees and you must blow the whistle, penalise foul play and enforce the rules impartially.
“Your success will be measured by the restoration of order in cotton markets, not by the number of reports you produce,” he warned AMA.
Deputy Minister Haritatos instructed AMA to start biometric registration of cotton farmers to act decisively against violations such as double-dipping from contractors, which has weighed on the growth of the industry.
“The digital registry will form the bedrock of a new era of transparency and bring an end to the chaos of cross-contracting and side marketing by enforcing one fundamental, non-negotiable rule: one farmer one merchant,” he said.
Last week, AMA held a cotton stakeholder meeting in Harare to implement the Cotton Indaba resolutions and update on preparations for the 2025/26 cotton production season.
AMA acting chief executive officer, Mr Jonathan Mukuruba, said they had started the process of putting in place a centralised grower database by engaging a developer to administer the biometric grower registration exercise.
“We implore ginners, farmer unions to partake in the process of registering their members under the biometric exercise.
“AMA will deploy its clerks in all areas from October 15 to intensify the registration exercise as well as start the distribution of inputs to farmers this month,” he said.
Stakeholders agreed to start input distribution from around October 22.
The biometric exercise eliminates paper-based verification and will help in the crop validation exercise to establish crop yield estimates.
Through this system, it will be easier to administer the stop order system, as is the case taking place in the tobacco industry.
Mr Mukuruba revealed that so far, Cangrow, Southern Cotton, Alliance Ginneries and Cotton Company of Zimbabwe (Cottco) had registered for the 2025/26 cotton production season, with the process still ongoing.
He also informed stakeholders that all merchants should pay grade-based price differentials by November 30.
The stakeholders also deliberated on the stabilisation fund as regards its administration and funding.
New Health 263 business development officer, Mr Tinashe Mucherera, highlighted that the biometric farmer registration and contracting system was aimed at ending side-marketing and securing investors’ investments.
“The system is specifically designed to address the critical pain points in the Zimbabwean cotton industry.
“This system provides a complete digital solution for farmer registration, contracting and marketing, moving the industry from a fragmented, high-risk model to a secure, efficient and transparent one,” he said.
Mr Mucherera said from registration to sale, everything is locked in.
“Biometric identification document (ID) verifies farmers with fingerprint recognition to prevent duplicate registrations.
“The smart contracts calculate input allocations automatically and enable digital signing for transparency, while the contract integrity lock ensures only authorised contractors purchase cotton, preventing fraud and side-marketing,” he highlighted.
The biometric farmer registration system physically blocks sales to any other contractor apart from the bona fide one. The biometric ID prevents duplicate farmers by ensuring that each farmer has one profile. It also limits inputs based on registered farm size and avoids fragmented data.
The new system has three areas of using the fingerprint; first during registration, second at contracting during input distribution and finally at marketing time. Even in areas where there is no network, biometric tablets will be used to register farmers.
