The Grain Marketing Board (GMB) has urged farmers to open Nostro accounts to enable them to receive US dollar payments for grain deliveries.
In a statement, GMB chief executive officer Rockie Mutenha said:
The GMB is encouraging farmers to update their Nostro banking details with our supply chain managers at all depots throughout the country for timeous payments.
For those with GMB farmer cards, the Nostro accounts will be automatically generated in our system.
On Saturday, Finance and Economic Development Minister Mthuli Ncube announced that farmers who deliver their grain to GMB will get 30 per cent of their proceeds in US dollars and 70 per cent in Zimbabwe dollars.
Ncube said the payment will be calculated at the prevailing willing buyer willing seller rate. He said:
In the quest to incentivise farmers and encourage early deliveries of maize and other grains to the Grain Marketing Board, the government has taken the decision to pay the maize farmers 30% of the amount due on grain delivered in United States Dollars and 70% in domestic Zimbabwe dollars.
The US Dollar payment will be calculated at the prevailing willing buyer willing seller rate published by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe on the date of delivery.
The payments will be backdated to the date of the first deliveries of this season’s maize to GMB.