adminSamuel Kadungure Farming Reporter
A LOCAL Agro-Chemical company has come up with an ambitious contract farming scheme that is set to help A1 farmers in Nyanga to diversify fully into horticulture with guaranteed lucrative markets and logistical assistance.
The launch of the contract farming facility by Shalom Agro-Chemicals last week in Nyanga also coincided with the awarding of excelling farmers with inputs and implements such as ploughs, harrows, sprayers and fertilisers.
So far farmer 20 A1 farmers have been contracted and are into cabbage farming, with the number set to increase and diversify following the success of the pilot project and training of farmers who were initially sceptical.
Beneficiary farmers are diversifying their livelihoods to potatoes, onions, legumes and fruits, taking advantage of agronomic extension services and market linkages, guaranteed in the scheme, to maximise returns on investment.
Under the agreement, the crops remain jointly owned until sold, where the financer recoup its expenses plus 15 percent seasonal interest with the farmer retaining the rest.
The company assists farmers in the agronomy, scouts for the best market and does the logistical arrangements on behalf of the farmers and recoups the expenses when the produce is sold.
The company gets 0.02 percent per cabbage head sold.
Farmers are expecting between 18 000 to 20 000 heads of cabbage whose prices range between $0,40 to $0, 50.
Farmers under the scheme hailed the initiative by Shalom Agro-Chemicals, which deals with agro-chemicals and veterinary products — saying the package was rewarding.
“The major hurdles faced by small-scale farmers include poor access to finance, high cost of loans, coupled with high inputs costs and these include seed and fertilisers which are the core of farming. When you find someone who can offer loans to farmers without collateral, then you have to grab that opportunity with two hands and make the best out of it.
“We are getting this assistance out of mutual understanding. Shalom Agro- Chemicals’ assistance fits squarely in the economic blue-print, Zim-Asset and as farmers we are very grateful. The soils are very fertile, the rains have been good, but we could not be as productive because of lack of resources,” said their representative, Retired Major Shepherd Gurure.
Another farmer, Mrs Phoeb Nyakunuhwa-Magadu, said the project was exciting and had transformed her lifestyle.
She said poverty levels continue to decline, with more children than ever now attending primary school, while malnutrition levels and child deaths had dropped dramatically.
Mrs Magadu said several women in the district had ventured into horticultural production with remarkable success.
“This has boasted my finances and confidence as a woman. I no longer rely on my husband for money, groceries, and school fees for my children or anything. My children are going to school and have access to a balanced diet on a daily basis. A number of people no longer suffer from chronic hunger. Income levels have improved at household level and people are no longer as vulnerable,” said Mrs Magadu.
Agronomist and project manager, Mr Thomas Machote, said the company had come up with a win-win arrangement.
The contract, he said, was carefully designed to plug loopholes often exploited by ‘middlemen’ to fleece farmers.
“The major challenge has been that the crop ended up in the hands of middlemen and we are here to bridge that gap by carrying the farmer on our back all the way from planting to the market. We are building the capacity of these farmers and want them to move away the exploitative farm-gate marketing fuelled by middlemen. Our thrust is also to bridge the financing gap that our marginalised farmers face since they cannot access funding from banks and to build their capacity so that household food security and nutritional security are attained and addressed in line with Zim-Asset.
“We scout for the market and bargain the process ourselves on behalf of the farmers and then make the necessary logistics to transport the product to the market because we have realised that it’s a mammoth task for an individual farmers,” said Mr Machote.
“We started off with the farmers doing half a hectare of cabbages and we are now diversifying into high value crops like potatoes, onions, legumes among others.
“Cabbage is a voluminous crop with relatively minimum market value, so we are building the capacity of small-scale farmers to move away from the traditional communal farming system and produce commercially.
“We are inculcating a sense of commercial production in these farmers because fresh produces are perishable, affected by forces of supply and demand and viability lies in volumes,” said Mr Machote.
District Agritex Officer for Nyanga, Mrs Phillipa Rwambiwa, urged farmers to work hard and honour their part of the bargain.
“The major challenge facing the nation is hunger. This war can only be fought if we approach farming as a business. We cannot win if we do not produce. We were given land, and we must use it productively.
“We want you to understand contracts before signing them. We have serious problems of farmers who do not want to pay back loans. You must pay back to ensure continuity and sustainability of the programme. We want a win-win situation,” said Mrs Rwambiwa.
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