Chronicle Editor
Judith Phiri, Business Reporter
AGRICULTURAL organisation, African Good Agricultural Practices Organisation (AGAPO), has partnered with the Standard Association of Zimbabwe (SAZ) to roll out training programmes to farmers on producing standard products and capacitating them with knowledge on exporting protocols.
In an interview, AGAPO founder, Mr Victor Marufu said they recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with SAZ and they are capacitating farmers.
“The background is that most African farmers have found it extremely expensive to undergo Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) standards which previously were being done by Global GAP, a European organisation. (GAP) is a set of standards for the safe and sustainable production of crops and livestock.
“We approached SAZ and they indicated that they actually have had some of these standards since 2017 and thus we signed an MoU to work together and bring these standards closer to ordinary farmers nationwide,” he said.
“Also, there is a realisation that farmers can supply substandard products to supermarkets locally which would not find their way into shelves into the global markets.”
He said that has compromised food safety standards and they were now working with the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ) to bring on board retailers and other critical stakeholders so that food in the shops undergoes some form of food safety standards checks.
Mr Marufu said they recently hosted a Food Safety Indaba and expressed hope that going forward GAP standards would become the norm rather than an exception even locally.
“The first GAP training was held successfully at the (SAZ) offices on 11 August and focused on ZW1019:2017 Zimbabwe Horticulture Good Agricultural Practice. The next GAP training will be on 15 September, and from there we will be rolling out the trainings nationwide,” he said.
He said most farmers assume their answer lies in exporting their produce and when they think export, they think Europe, not other African countries.
Giving an example, Mr Marufu said a farmer will grow chillies for export then towards harvest they start running around looking for ways to export them.
“They then only find out too late that GAP standards do matter and that European Union (EU) protocols differ from United States of America (USA) protocols. The chemicals and fertilisers they allow are different.
“It will then be too late to do anything about it because the farmer will be about to harvest their chillies and they need a market that will readily take them,” said Mr Marufu.
He said as AGAPO they were also working closely with the Plant and Quarantine Research Centre to ensure farmers register their field well before they plant anything, get the list of protocols for the destination country of their produce and a phytosanitary certificate which is a prerequisite for all plant-based products among other things.
Mr Marufu said farmers need to plan and follow protocols if they are to successfully export their produce.
Meanwhile, in a previous interview, Fair Mark Compliance consultant and expert on Global Gap certification, Mr Clarence Mwale emphasised that the critical element to consider in export business was to find a market first.
He said it was also important for farmers who want to export to learn from other farmers already exporting horticulture produce and have the requisite knowledge on GlobalGap certification process and the costs involved.
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter