Vusumuzi Dube
Yolanda Mlilo, Business Reporter
VARIOUS farmers from the Matabeleland region on Friday had the opportunity to sell their wares and create business linkages at a Market Fair that was held in Bulawayo’s Nkulumane complex.
The Market Fair was meant for farmers in the region to meet up with other farmers and informal traders as well as to tour the new Nkulumane Fruit and Vegetable market, which is in its final stages of construction.
Spearheaded by the Bulawayo Vendors and Traders Association in collaboration with the Bulawayo City Council, Dan Church Aid and United Nations Development Programme Zimbabwe, the Market Fair was in its fourth edition.
“The Market Fair gave farmers an opportunity to exhibit and sell their wares, network and share ideas with other farmers and informal traders, share their agro-solutions and also tour this Nkulumane Fruit and Vegetable market.
“We are pleased by the numbers that came through and it the networking that took place gave the participants to also get ideas that will contribute to the growth of their respective ventures,” said BVTA executive director, Mr Michael Ndiweni.
He revealed that 30 farmers exhibited at the Market Fair, with close to 200 traders coming in to purchase the wares that were on display.
“Traders were many because farmers finished their products. Some farmers had to go back and collect more products. In total, I can estimate that close to 200 traders came through. There were also insurance companies, who came through to engage with the farmers.
“We are trying to create a link between farmers and informal traders ensuring that people get cheaper products. We are providing a public space for training to the farmers and traders, at the same time we are encouraging farmers to insure their goods and join medical aids, as all these come in handy in promoting their businesses,” said Mr Ndiweni.
He revealed that they will soon be holding another Market Fair noting its importance in getting information on various services to the farmers.
“For instance, there were associations from cross boarder traders who were talking about export markets and how farmers could export their produce. Even farmers who wanted to package their products, standardise and have barcodes, we had such companies to give them more information on that,” said Mr Ndiweni.
Turning to the Nkulumane Fruit and Vegetable market, Mr Ndiweni said once completed the facility will adhere to modern standards to ensure that both buyers and sellers will see no need to go to the Central Business District.
“The market will have two cold rooms where farmers will store their produce enabling them to prevent their produce from going bad, there will be innovations like hydraulics, aquaponics that promote farming in a small space, solar dryers to add value to their products and farmers will be taught farming as a business,” he said.
Although he could not give the exact date when the marketplace will be opened, Mr Ndiweni said the market will also be environmentally friendly where there will be bins to separate plastics, metal, biodegradable waste and glass.
“There will also be sanitary dispensers which are not found in many markets among many innovations that we are working on,” he said.
“A small place will also be reserved for the kids to play as their parents go about their business in the market.”
Farmers interviewed at the Market Fair said they were looking forward to the opening of this market, noting that it would bring a big change to their agricultural business.
Ms Kourtney Nkomo, from Fresh Tech said the market wholesale will make it easy to sell her produce.
“This new market is located where there are a lot of people and this means that there will be a lot of customers and this will generate more income for us as an agribusiness,” she said
Mr Mthokozisi Manzini Moyo, from Umguza Irrigation Plots said the market wholesale will cut several costs like transport, which they were currently incurring.
“We are growing produce in bulk and the opening of Nkulumane Fruit and Vegetable Wholesale will enable us to sell all our goods at one place which is less costly compared to selling our produce in many places,” said Mr Moyo.
He commended BVTA and its partners for their exceptional work in establishing the market wholesale.
The project is being driven by the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works under the Building Urban Resilience in Zimbabwe through ‘Safe Markets and Green Solutions’ programme.
It is being implemented in line with the Government’s deliberate thrust and efforts to formalise the Micro, Small to Medium Enterprises entailed by the national vision of an upper middle-income economy by 2030 under the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1).
The construction of the fruit and vegetable market comes after an extensive assessment and realisation of the need to support decentralisation of safe markets. The wholesale market will ensure that producers are selling from well-established infrastructure.
Online Reporter