Zimbabwe has banned farmers from selling corn to anyone other than the State Grain Market Council, as the government is taking measures to lower prices for the main product after a severe drought hit the country.
According to the rules, any person or company who buys corn directly from farmers can be sentenced to imprisonment for up to two years. The grain marketing board will be the sole buyer of the crop and then sell it to the millers.
The country expects corn production to decline by 54% this year - to 776,635 tons after the drought, which, according to the UN agency, has led to 5 million people in Zimbabwe need food assistance.
In an official statement, the country's Minister of Land and Agriculture also banned farmers or corn producers from transporting more than 250 kg of crop from one region to another. Failure to do so may result in corn confiscation by the police.
“No individual or legal entity, or company, or organization should buy or otherwise purchase corn from any farmer or producer other than through the Grain Marketing Council,” the ministry said in a statement.
