Business moguls move in to revive Arda estates

companies to resuscitate Katiyo Tea Estates and the Sanyati Crop and Livestock project.
ARDA chairman Mr Basil Nyabadza said two companies will invest a combined US$8 million in the projects.
He said one of the companies FMI Holdings, controlled by business mogul Mr Shingi Mutasa, had gone into partnership with ARDA to revamp the Katiyo Tea Estates.
“Joint venture discussions have been finalised with FMI Holdings who have accepted a 51/49 percent shareholding in favour of ARDA. They are investing capital expenditure to the tune of US$5,8 million over 15 years,” he told the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture, Water, Lands and Resettlement.
The partnership, he said, aimed at revitalising tea and coffee plantations at Katiyo Main Estate and the out-grower scheme.
The estate’s plantations have over the past decade suffered owing to unavailability of working capital.
Some sections of the plantation have been burnt down and will take close to a decade to resuscitate. Mr Nyabadza said joint venture discussions had also been concluded with Gombe Agriculture led by business magnate Mr Oliver Chidawu. “Joint venture discussions were finalised with Gombe Agriculture on a 51/49 in favour of ARDA effective December 2010,” he said.
“The partner is to invest US$3,89 million as capital expenditure over the next two years,” he added. Sanyati Estate, which produces mainly soya bean and wheat, requires major irrigation rehabilitation.
Mr Nyabadza said the establishment of public private partnerships was crucial to resuscitating distressed plantations, livestock and cropping estates.
He said the authority, with a debt of almost US$6 million, would in the short-term concentrate on turning estates into strategic business units. “The authority’s short-term strategies include contract farming, running estates as strategic business units, strengthening performance based management systems to enhance output,” he said.
He added that it was also important in the short term to identify new domestic and export markets for agricultural produce.
Meanwhile, Mr Nyabadza said the start of production of ethanol by winter at Chisumbanje estates was on schedule.
“Civil works on the mill house, distillery and boiler are 80 percent complete. Plant commissioning is targeted for the month of April with first full production being made in June,” he said.
Mr Nyabadza said total ethanol production for 2011 was targeted to reach 40 million litres on the existing 5 000 hectares of sugar cane.
The production of ethanol is expected to improve availability of fuel and bring down prices. “Production in 2012 is targeted to reach 100 million litres on 11 000 hectares of sugar cane,” he said, adding, “the ethanol will be used to produce about 18 megawatts (MW) that will be fed onto the national grid,” he said.The country, through use of ethanol as fuel additive, hopes to significantly slash the country’s fuel import bill. – New Ziana.