29 Mar 2017

A renowned horticultural farmer in the Chobe enclave has urged his colleagues to unite to protect themselves from exploitation they are facing regarding the selling of their produce.
Speaking at a procurement seminar hosted by Local Enterprise Authority (LEA) Kasane branch recently, Mr Solomon Tshenyo of Tshenyo farms encouraged farmers to come together and open a fruit and vegetable shop in Kasane.
He said as farmers in the Chobe region, they were faced with many challenges emanating from buyers. For instance, he said some buyers dictate prices for their produce, a situation he described as disadvantaging them.
“This is not fair as we do not have a chance to negotiate prices for ourselves,” he observed.
He further complained about the delay by buyers in purchasing their produce resulting in them depreciating in value.
Furthermore, he added that since their goods were highly perishable, buyers tend to complain about quality even though they were the ones who delayed to purchase.
Also, he said buyers usually took time to process their payments affecting farmers’ cash flow and the ability to keep on producing. ENDS