Online Reporter
Lovemore Kadzura
Post Reporter
FISH production in Manicaland is set to receive a significant boost with plans to establish a pioneering cold chain facility in Mutare that will provide small-scale farmers with a centralised location for storing and marketing their produce.
The initiative, spearheaded by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), under the Fish for African Caribbean and Pacific states (FISH4ACP) programme, is being implemented in partnership with the Government and Aquaculture Zimbabwe.
The project seeks to reduce post-harvest losses among farmers and provide them with access to stable, high-paying urban markets for their perishable products.
National professional officer for FAO, under FISH4ACP, Mr Paul Mwera said the project addresses key challenges facing fish farmers, including inferior fingerlings, supply and cost of feeds, lack of reliable markets, and access to capital.
To support the initiative, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has donated a refrigerated truck to transport fish from various centres to the proposed facility.
Mutare City Council has been tasked with identifying suitable land for the facility, while stakeholders are seeking a private partner to collaborate with farmers and operate the facility on a commercial basis.
The Zimbabwe Fish Producers Association (ZFPA) will oversee the project’s implementation.
“In Zimbabwe, we are supporting the tilapia value chain. A value chain analysis conducted from 2020 to 2022 identified several challenges constraining the development of aquaculture. These included fingerling supply issues, with farmers recycling fingerlings bred within farms, resulting in inferior output and poor genetic improvements.
“Additionally, the supply and cost of feed were prohibitively high for smallholder farmers. There was also a knowledge gap due
to a lack of extension officers trained to provide guidance on fish farming.
Most of our extension officers are trained in crop and livestock production, excluding fish. Furthermore, access to capital was a significant challenge.
“We have developed solutions to address these challenges. Currently, fish farmers lack offtakes, forcing them to sell their harvests locally at low prices due to the lack of cold chain facilities. Fish is a highly perishable product, and we need to rescue this situation. To minimise post-harvest losses and enable farmers to get value from their fish, we are pioneering a cold chain facility in Mutare to serve the entire province.
Farmers will be able to bring their fish to the facility for marketing. The facility will have a capacity of at least five tonnes per day, aggregated by a cold chain truck donated by SADC to the Zimbabwe Fish Producers Association,” explained Mr Mwera.
Aquaculture Zimbabwe technical operations director, MrMartin Ndingwa said fish farmers were not receiving fair value for their produce due to reliance on local sales, hindered by lack of transportation and refrigeration facilities.
“The number of smallholder fish farmers in Manicaland, particularly in Mutasa District, is increasing. While they produce at large scale, accessing well-paying markets remains a challenge. The cold chain facility in Mutare will address this need,” he said.
Mr Ndingwa added that a joint venture between the Zimbabwe Fish Producers Association (ZFPA) and a private player would be facilitated to operate the facility.
A fish farmer from Honde Valley and ZFPA representative, Mrs Cathrine Mbona, commended the Government for introducing partners to enhance fish farming operations.
“Small-scale farmers have embraced fish farming due to training from Government and partner organisations. However, market access remains a challenge. Fish is perishable, leading to low sales prices,” she said.
Mrs Mbona expressed confidence that the cold chain facility would alleviate these challenges, enabling them to transport fish from areas like Mutasa, Chipinge, and Makoni to Mutare, where there is a wider and liquid market.
