Moffat Mungazi
Lovemore Kadzura
Post Reporter
THE timber sector has been urged to diversify its business to complement the dwindling plantations and address fire challenges.
This was said by Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) economist, Mr Whisper Nyandoro during the Timber Value Chain Validation Seminar currently underway in Mutare.
“There is a need for the timber industry to diversify and embrace other products to support timber. Timber takes between 18 and 25 years to mature. The sector must consider embracing bamboo, which matures earlier.
“Plantations are vast, and it is high time players consider livestock rearing. While we wait for decades for timber to mature, we can rely on livestock to sustain operations,” said Mr Nyandoro.
The seminar is being attended by timber producers, manufacturers, regulators, and other key players in the value chain.
Manicaland Province is the country’s major timber-producing hub, with plantations covering around 70,000 hectares. The sector employs over 5,000 people formally, while thousands more are in the informal sector.
The industry is also a key foreign currency earner.
However, the sector is currently plagued by challenges such as fires, illegal settlements, mining, and a shortage of seeds for replanting, among others.
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