50 firms for food expo

Conrad Mwanawashe Harare Bureau
VICE-President Phelekezela Mphoko will officially open the inaugural Bulawayo edition of the Zimbabwe Food Conference and Expo where more than 50 food processing companies will participate.

The conference begins in Bulawayo on Friday with focus on harnessing opportunities for food processing firms in the country.

A private sector initiative to import 700,000 metric tonnes of maize to complement government efforts in mitigating grain shortages will also be launched during the convention.

Event organiser and Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ) chairman, Tafadzwa Musarara, told our Harare Bureau VP Mphoko would be the guest of honour at the indaba to be held at the Bulawayo Rainbow Hotel.

He said the conference was expected to highlight opportunities for local food processing companies arising from the imminent food shortages.

“More than 50 leading food processing companies are expected to exhibit. The expo will provide an opportunity for food companies to showcase their products to the consuming public,” he said.

“This conference seeks to buttress on the dictates of the mid-term policy that’s calling for the localisation of the importation of food commodities for the benefit of local agricultural and manufacturing sectors.

“There’ll be cookouts, eating competitions and many other exciting promotional activities.”

Musarara said GMAZ would present to participants an elaborate private sector maize importation programme for the period September 2015 to July 30, 2016.

He said the maize importation programme has already been presented to Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa in his capacity as chairperson of the Cabinet Committee on food security.

“The plan has put in place measures that will see adequate supplies of maize meal and stock feed available at stable prices. GMAZ has also proposed to the government a number of measures relating to cross border trading with South Africa and Zambia to ensure a smooth flow of maize into the country,” said Musarara.

The programme would feature among other things; promotion of full recovery of livestock farming in Matabeleland, which will be tackled by the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation development, the Cold Storage Company (CSC) and farmers’ unions.

Participants would also deliberate on driving towards national self sustenance to be addressed by the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries, the Livestock Advisory Council, National Bakers’ Association of Zimbabwe and GMAZ.

The first edition of the conference and expo was held in Harare last month where participants tackled three thematic issues — the economic status of food processing in Zimbabwe, social and policy issues in Zimbabwe with focus on pros and cons of genetically modified foods, the state of food fortification as a health issue and among other issues and food relief as well as expectations of the government and the donor community.

The conference ends on Saturday.