Turning Maphisa into an agro-processing hub – Chronicle

Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa (left) tours Arda Antelope in Maphisa in Matabeleland South accompanied by Arda Board chairman Basil Nyabadza and other dignitaries in this file photo

Business Editor, Prosper Ndlovu IN pursuit of a new trajectory of accelerated economic growth and wealth creation, the Government formulated a strategy known as the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (Zim-Asset: October 2013-December 2018).

In the foreword to this economic blueprint, President Mugabe noted that the strategy was crafted to achieve sustainable development and social equity anchored on indigenisation, empowerment and employment creation, which will be largely propelled through judicious exploitation of the countrys abundant human and natural resources.

One such resource is the land, which is now in control of a majority of Zimbabweans following the successful land reform programme since the turn of the millennium.

This results-based agenda, said the President, is built around four strategic clusters that are meant to enable Zimbabwe to achieve economic growth and reposition the country as one of the strongest economies in the region and Africa. The four strategic clusters are: food security and nutrition; social services and poverty eradication; infrastructure and utilities and value addition and beneficiation.

The revival of the agriculture sector as the backbone of the countrys economy is at the heart of Zim-Asset as it speaks to the food security goals as well as the value addition and beneficiation thrusts. Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) play a key role in this matrix as they add impetus in fast-tracking attainment of set economic targets. One of the flagship projects is the partnership between the Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (ARDA) and Trek Petroleum at Antelope Estate in Maphisa, Matobo District and Ingwizi Estate in Mangwe District.

Since February 2015 when ARDA entered into a five year partnership with Trek Petroleum, Antelope and Ingwizi Estates, which were on the verge of collapse, have registered improved output, creating more job opportunities for local communities. Recent reports show that ARDA Antelope, the pioneer project under the partnership, has made dramatic recovery and progressively expanded wheat and maize hectarage under rain-fed farming and irrigation cropping.

In the 2016/17 season, ARDA Antelope has 500ha planted under maize, which would be increased to 750ha in the coming winter cropping and 1 000ha in the next rain-fed season, ARDA board chair Mr Basil Nyabadza said recently. ARDA Ingwizi is at 600ha with plans to increase to 850ha this winter and 1 000ha by year-end. This means the two estates would by the end of the year have the capacity to produce about 10 000 tonnes of the crop each, which would contribute immensely to food security in the drought prone province.

During a visit to the two estates a fortnight ago, Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa said output conditions were ripe for Maphisa growth point in particular, to be turned into an agro-processing hub in Matabeleland South.

We already have silos and driers here and the next plan is to set up a milling plant for wheat flour and mealie-meal. With time if we grow soya bean here we will then need to set up an oil expressing firm.

We need to do manufacturing and packaging here. The market should go to where the product is and not the other way round. This means shops in Bulawayo and elsewhere will come here and order products. This will create more jobs in this area and this is the vision we have, said VP Mnangagwa.

He said the Governments objective was to facilitate inclusive development where ordinary people in communities participate in project development. The Vice President said there was a synergy between improved agricultural production and infrastructure development. He said establishment of a processing factory in Maphisa would necessitate a quick road infrastructure upgrade and attract more service providers to invest in the business centre.

This means everything will be done here and people from Bulawayo will come and get produce here. With such a big business, it will also be easy to fix the road network. When this is done Zimbabwe will bid goodbye to hunger. So, this is what we want, to achieve self sufficiency using local resources, said the VP.

He said a similar model could be applied to all productive zones in the country where agro-processing inputs like cotton, soya bean, tobacco, meat and horticultural produce was in abundance.

Chief Nyangazonke from Kezi also hailed the project but urged improved relations with the local community through mutual consultation with the traditional leadership.

This is a good project for us but communities need to be clear of what their input is? What their control is, and what is their benefit? These areas need consultation with locals so that we do not become visitors in our institution or projects, he said.

We are looking forward for employment of local people there. There should be a clear percentage of, say shares, to locals. The programme should also have a synergy with local farmers on the livestock front because our wealth lies in cattle.

On beneficiation of farm produce, Chief Nyangazonke said there should be a model of ensuring that milling, packaging and other services were given to locals so as to empower the community.

The community needs to feel part of this dream and have ownership for its success. There should not be a situation where people feel as outsiders or be treated as intruders. Even the elderly should feel the project is theirs and benefit from it, he said.

The chief said the expansion of ARDA Antelope should also encompass imparting farming skills to locals as well as training services to agricultural colleges and attachees. He said sustainable farming should also consider wild animals, which are part of the wealth of the community.

Zimbabwe is looking forward to a bumper harvest this year after receiving above normal rains. The Command Agriculture scheme, a specialised maize production programme, has added impetus with more farmers embracing the Government supported scheme. Communal farmers, who also benefited from the Presidential Inputs scheme, are also expected to get positive yields despite hiccups such as shortage of fertiliser and the outbreak of pests such as the fall army worm, which affected some crops, mainly in January.

Prospects for the 2016/17 season, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development, indicate that the country would harvest an excess of two million tonnes enough to meet domestic consumption and processing industry needs.

Government has already suspended grain imports saying the country has enough food reserves with more deliveries expected at the Grain Marketing Board depots when harvesting starts next month.

Agro-processing industries such as millers, brewery and stockfeed manufacturers stand to benefit immensely from improved yields. Increased yields are set to spur agro-processing industrial output, Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries president, Mr Busisa Moyo said.

Beyond 2017, experts say Zimbabwe now needs to come up with a strategic model to enhance food production throughout the year using irrigation farming. This is crucial in view of droughts experienced in the last few years across the country and the region at large, which are testimony to the reality of climate change that had made rain-fed agriculture unreliable.

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Turning Maphisa into an agro-processing hub - Chronicle