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Whitie Come Home ! WE’r Hungry !
15 Years After Land-Grabs, Mugabe Invites White Farmers Back To Zimbabwe
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 07/23/2015 18:45 -0400
File this one away in the “when populism backfires” folder.
A little over a month after announcing that the Zimbabwean dollar – which, you’re reminded, was phased out in 2009 after inflation rose modestly to 500 billion percent – would be demonetized and exchanged at a generous rate of $5 for every 175 quadrillion, Zimbabwe will for the first time rethink the sweeping land grabs which began in 2000 and subsequently crippled the country’s economy.
Many Zimbabwean farmers who have stopped growing food in favor of “green gold” (tobacco) fear they will starve this winter after a severe drought and a generalized “lack of knowledge” left them with a subpar crop that fetched little at auction. Here’s more from Rueters:
Thousands of small-scale farmers in Zimbabwe fear they will be going hungry this winter after abandoning traditional staples like maize, sorghum and groundnuts for tobacco, a cash crop known locally in this southern African nation as “green gold”.
For 15 years after Zimbabwe’s agriculture sector collapsed in the face of President Robert Mugabe’s seizure of white-owned farms to resettle landless blacks, the tobacco industry has been booming, with farmers funded by private firms to grow tobacco.
But this switch, coupled with the worst regional drought in nearly a decade, has left Zimbabwe in a precarious food situation. Many farmers have complained of low prices as the season ends while buyers argue the quality of the crop was poor.
The tobacco industry has become the country’s biggest export earner with over 88,000 growers registered with the tobacco regulatory body, the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board, in the 2014/15 season, up from 52,000 in 2012.
But the returns are often uncertain and many farmers have been left disappointed.
Industry figures showed that at the end of the selling season this month farmers sold 188.5 million kgs worth $555 million, down 8.5 percent from a year ago when the crop was worth $654 million.
“It was a disaster,” said David Muyambo, 35, a father of four, who earned $74 from tobacco sales this season after investing $1,200 in his crop. “I need to buy food for my family and I have no money.”
Muyambo blames his failure on erratic rains, which decimated his crop, as well as his lack of knowledge on how to apply fertilizer, remove suckers and cure the crop.
Muyambo said he will never farm tobacco again.
With more farmers focused on tobacco, Zimbabwe’s harvest of maize, a staple food, dropped by 49 percent in the 2014/15 season, the government said, which is set to exacerbate food shortages in Zimbabwe, once the bread-basket of the region.
Another Dr found dead. This makes 9 dead plus 5 others missing. WTF??
Holistic Fit Dentist, 41, Found Dead of Massive Heart Attack While Jogging
This brings the body count to nine . . . This is getting crazy! -LW
Dr Abdul- Karim was a holistic dentist who helped the underprivileged, and had a Non Profit foundation set up 2 years ago to do just that. His fraternity brother, patient and long time friend said it just “doesn’t add up” about the shocking death of his friend on Tuesday, July 21st. A passerby found him dead on the side of the road at 10PM EST. RIP
Read more:
richard640
Not sure they care about the Dollar moving @ 1%…it’s the SM that worries them …as that gets headlines…currency moves have to be large etc.
buygold
A falling SM and riseing PM’s is what they are truly terrified of……hence the Rig.
Sean–thanks for the rates insight–what do u make of the $ being down so much–with the china crash today
I expected the safe haven play to be the $–is selling the $ today front running a no rate rise and/or dovish comments wed. even postponing a rise in sept??
Maddog
Who cares what the SM does? As long as they can continually flush pm’s everything is great on the world.
So far nothing much changes
constant massive offers in GDX pushing it lower….seems the rally is only another shorting oportunity to the Algo’s/Scum.
GDX is down near 5 % from tdys Hi…nothing can rally against a no limit seller.
But can they rally the SM ?????
Just another
incredibly shitty day.
eeos…
I’m thinking of the funds themselves, not nec. current performance.
CEF
here’s a chart
Tomi Lahren ,,, Obamas Worst Nightmare
She Is going to cut O a New One ..This 22 Year Old is his WORST NTGHTMARE
Check out the U-Tube Rant
http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2015/07/21/tomi-lahrens-obama-rant-goes-viral-con
Thinking of phiz
Keep an eye on the US Mint Silver Eagles. The sales sure haven’t cooled in the last few years. Each column is a year since 1986. I started keeping track of the months in color the last 6 years. I also find it interesting how many people are buying since 2008. Orderly chaos. This June was the highest June sales ever, with spot plunging. July could have probably done even better, but intervention instead by not minting coins. Dishonest practices
Phizz for those who don’t want phizz…
For people you know who want exposure but don’t want to own/hold physical, have you recommended any funds? I have been comfortable suggesting CEF; what about Sprott’s funds? PSLV and/or PHYS? They seem safe and honest.
Shh! It’s secret!
Greece rocked by reports of secret plan to raid banks for drachma return
Some members of Greece’s leftist-led government wanted to raid central bank reserves and hack taxpayer accounts to prepare a return to the drachma, according to reports that highlighted the chaos in the ruling Syriza party.
It is not clear how seriously the government considered the plans, attributed to former energy minister Panagiotis Lafazanis and ex-finance minister Yanis Varoufakis. Lafazanis was sacked from his post and Varoufakis resigned earlier this month. However, the revelations have been seized on by opposition parties who are demanding an explanation.
The reports on Sunday came at the end of a week of fevered speculation over what Syriza hardliners had in mind as an alternative to the tough bailout terms Tsipras has reluctantly accepted to keep Greece in the eurozone.
About a quarter of the party’s 149 MPs rebelled over proposals to pass sweeping austerity measures in exchange for up to €86bn (£60bn) in fresh loans. Tsipras has been struggling to hold the party together.
In an interview with Sunday’s edition of the RealNews daily, Lafazanis said he had urged the government to tap the reserves of the Bank of Greece in defiance of the European Central Bank.
Lafazanis, the leader of a hardline Syriza faction that has argued for a return to the drachma, said the move would have allowed pensions and public sector wages to be paid if Greece were forced out of the euro.
China
I follow 45 Chinese stocks..ONLY 1 is UP CHNR nat Resources
Buygold
I think they are intervening in everything……but could be getting overwhelmed somewhat.
I got the impression this AM that everyone was sitting and waiting to see how the US mkts react to China…as the Scum had already made sure O/N mkts weren’t too shabby…..I reckon they will be in all day tdy.
By the way I have a buy signal on rates for the 10’s and 30’s tdy…if the SM doesn’t recover and the signal works, that could cause panic !!!!!!
Looks like 1100.00 is the Sum’s Maginot line…throwing everything at it.
Anyone own Silvercrest?
Seems like a decent acquisition for First Majestic.
Nothing wrong to be taken out with a good premium.
R640
I think it’s all about the Euro. I think the Euro is strengthening because Greece is headed out the door.
As for the consensus about gold crashing with world markets? I dunno, but it seems to me the hedge funds might be on the wrong side and gotten a little too heavy on the short side, hard to say how much of a rally in gold that’s going to be worth. I guess the miners will let us know right?
SM bouncing off the 200 dma, I wonder if it will continue to hold?
Maddog @ 7:08
Wow! Looks like a mushroom cloud rising over the Chinese SM!
Buygold–what do u make of the $ action-down 776 bps?
Gold is barely near the late Friday close…silver’s pathetic…but who knows–bottoms are often ragged and divergent-that can serve as a hook to keep the bears short…gold should be doing better given the $ but the day is young…looks like China may have set off a worldwide crash sequence-too early to tell, though…the consensus is gold will crash like in 2008 if stocks do…
treefrog
Looks like the wolf is scratching at the door!
What is your house made of?