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Blessings Chidakwa and Marytise Vambayi
ZIMBABWE is retracing its footsteps in the European Union (EU) markets with a local firm having injected over US$6,5 million, part of which is being used to refurbish a cold room facility at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport in Harare.
The local company, Selby, in Mazowe district is now growing, processing and doing value addition to about 14 products including blueberries, cherry peppers, chillies and peas.
At its peak, more than 1 700 workers are employed at the firm which is also canning products such as beans, tomatoes and fruit jam.
In an interview during a tour of the company yesterday, Selby director, Mr Adam Selby, said two years ago they started with 10 hectares of blueberries and now they have extended to 32 hectares with the immediate target being to reach 50 hectares.
“The investment to date is around US$3 million not only for blueberries, but we have invested a lot in other crops, setting up the land so that it meets European Union and global gap standards. We need to conform to those pretty rigorous requirements.
“We have got a canning factory, new hitech equipment worth US$3,5 million that is going to revolutionise the ability of Zimbabwe to compete regionally and even further with a whole range of products.
“We will focus on tomato and baked beans products,” he said.
Mr Selby said the investment is going to be a game-changer as far as Zimbabwe’s position as a supplier of these kinds of products is concerned.
“At the Robert Mugabe International Airport, we are putting a big investment there to refurbish the cold room capacity. We want to facilitate the growth of the horticulture industry in mainly orchard crops.
“The key crops that we will be looking to handle there will be blueberries, peas, citrus, and apples. We have until March next year to finish that project”.
Mr Selby said there is a lot of interest in horticulture.
“Investment is coming, we are getting support from the Government to address the prevailing problems,” he said.
“We are working together and that is generally causing optimism up there. We continue to struggle to find a way through.
“We are going to get to the other side with Zimbabwe back as a serious supplier of horticulture products into the marketplace”.
Mr Selby said the firm is also investing in putting a 600 kilowatts solar plant that will run the whole project.
Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Permanent Secretary Dr John Basera said Selby is part of a horticulture recovery and growth plan in motion.
“This is one of the dictates of the horticulture recovery growth plan which seeks to return the horticulture subspace back to its glory days.
“We used to export between US$143 million to US$150 million worth of horticultural exports, especially into the European markets or Middle East and the region as well. We need to get back to those numbers and even to surpass them,” he said.
Dr Basera said the firm was also doing import substitution.
“That is the reason why we have to look inwards. We hear at peak they employ over 1 800 families. So you can’t separate what is happening here with Vision 2030. It is about value creation and incomes for households,” he said.
Dr Basera said this was a proper model to be replicated countrywide.
“If we can replicate what we are doing here we can attain the objectives of Vision 2030 even faster. They are a beneficiary of duty-free import substitution goods, capital items, and infrastructure.
“This is also a testimony that the Government incentive regime as part of the ease of doing business reforms is bearing fruit,” he said.
Zimbabwe envisages to be an upper-middle-class economy by 2030 and agriculture is critical in the attainment of that Vision, with the sector targeting to become an US$8,2 billion economy by 2025.
Online Reporter