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Africa Moyo recently in MUTOKO
WAKING up at 4am and making a beeline to Lot Shopping Centre a few kilometres from Mutoko Town Centre along the Nyamapanda Highway is a way of life for many women in the area.
It is a daily hunt for top grade tomatoes from wholesalers for resale.
After buying their wares, the traders conveniently position themselves along the highway to “waylay” passersby, especially motorists.
As soon as any vehicle signals its intention to stop, the area explodes in a frenzy to tout the tomatoes. The swarm from this army of vendors is almost always overwhelming.
The sheer dexterity of the women, most of whom balance all manner of dishes and baskets while maintaining top-speed to reach the potential customer, is nothing short of astounding.
The division of labour here is quite distinct: men tend gardens and women sell the produce. But things are changing.
The ruthless weather conditions induced by the El-Nino phenomenon is blowing hot winds and little rains. The horticulture industry is taking a hit.
Mrs Precious Schikirivao (35), a mother-of-five whose parents are of Mozambican descent, has been selling tomatoes at the shopping centre for the past 10 years.
“I am able to pay for her fees from my daily sales. The food we eat at home also comes from the business because my husband is not working these days.
“Ordinarily, he should be growing tomatoes but because of water shortages dating back to last year, my husband is unable to grow tomatoes,” says Mrs Schikirivao.
Charehwa is arguably the biggest tomato-producing village in Mutoko, while Lot is home to some of the best producers of the crop. But because of the poor rains, demand for tomatoes is outstripping supply and enterprising farmers from as far as Macheke and Marondera are cashing in.
The Macheke and Marondera farmers drive to Mutoko every morning to sell their tomatoes at wholesale prices.
Soldiering On
It is not every farmer who has been subdued by the significant challenges bred by nature.
Mr Conrad Nyahodza (46), who has been in the business for the past eight years, dug a well in his garden to irrigate his crops. He used to draw from the nearby Nyakatuzvi River, but that water body has dried up.
“Rarely does this river dry up, but since December 2015 it has been without water and I have turned to Mudzi River which is also near my garden. I have acquired a diesel water pump, which I purchased for US$700, to irrigate my garden,” he says.
Apart from scooping sand along Mudzi River to create a dam from which to draw water to irrigate his crops, Mr Nyahodza also plants maize together tomatoes so that the former shields the latter from direct sun.
Hot weather negatively affects tomato production
Mutoko district is generally hot and El-Nino has only made things worse.
According to a Mutoko district situation report dated January 20, 2016, rains first came in October and the “next effective rains were received on December 18, 2015”.
Since December last year, no significant rains have been recorded in the area tomato production has declined across the district.
“The heat has resulted in low production of tomatoes. Consequently, all farmers cannot meet even local demand; let alone thinking of selling in Harare and other markets.
“This has resulted in some farmers from Marondera coming with tomatoes to sell here. You know people from all surrounding areas and as far as Kotwa and Nyamapanda, come here to buy tomatoes, so demand is huge,” says Mr Nyahodza.
A crate of tomatoes is sold for up to US$15. The supplies coming in from Marondera and Macheke sometimes push prices down to US$10.
On a good day, Mr Nyahodza pockets US$200. It can be quite a lucrative business.
Other horticulture farmers in Mutoko’s Ward 14 who are braving the heat to remain in business are Mr Innocent Kapanga (34) and Mr Shame Chabvuta (30).
Mr Kapanga is facing probably one of his biggest losses in recent years if rains do not fall in the next week or two.
His tomato crop, which can potentially generate US$3 000 at current prices, is already showing signs of moisture stress.
“The continued heat is severely affecting my crop. If there are no rains between now and next week, by March I will not be harvesting anything from my crop.
“I use the siphon system to water the crop once every week because of water shortages but, clearly, the water is not enough,” says a worried Mr Kapanga.
The low production and occasionally low tomato prices, have forced him to concentrate on the Mutoko market.
He says taking the produce to Mbare in Harare does not make economic sense at present due to high transport costs.
Nonetheless, Mr Kapanga will return to Mbare when prices improve.
The is another challenge for tomato farmers: they have to share wells dug for gardens with livestock.
And that is not all.
Mutoko assistant district administrator Mr Nelson Takura says blasting of granite by companies in the area is affecting the water table.
“When rocks are blasted, it affects the rock carrying the (underground) streams, impacting on the water table causing the water to go further down.
“This has affected horticulture in some parts of Mutoko and is now causing hunger to people that could have sustained their families through farming,” says Mr Takura.
Despite the current difficulties, some farmers will not trade their trade for anything.
For Mr Nyahodza, who dumped the glitz and glamour of Harare where he used to work for a clothing firm, farming is life.
“I left the company because I felt the salary was not commensurate with the effort I invested and came back home to start farming. Horticulture has transformed my life as I now own seven cattle, a scotchcart, a diesel water pump, and more importantly, I am able to take care of my six children and wife,” he says.
Both Mr Chabvuta and Mr Kapanga have built decent homes.
Value Addition
Despite improvements and innovations in water pumping, there has not been any significant movement towards value addition of crops.
While there have been repeated promises to help farmers value-add their produce, nothing is happening.
“We would like to add value to our tomatoes but poverty prevents us from doing so. You know, tomatoes are perishable and cannot be kept for long but coming up with strategies to add value to the crop is beyond us,” explains Mr Kapanga.
Value addition and beneficiation is one of the four clusters of the country’s five-year economic blueprint, Zim-Asset.
Mutoko assistant district administrator Mr Takura says there is a business case for farmers to add value to their produce.
Farmers are no longer keen to take their tomatoes to Mbare Musika due to poor sleeping conditions and that “prices are dictated somehow by the buyers” in line with demand and supply.
“The same people who buy from our farmers are the same who then sell the tomatoes to supermarkets … As a result of the challenges they face when they go to sell their tomatoes in Harare, the farmers say ‘if they can get means to add value and get more money from their crops, it would be better’.
“Now, the value addition thrust has begun and if you can go to Tabudirira Vocational Training Centre (located a few kilometres before Mutoko when coming from Harare), there are machines that are already there.
“We have established a value addition centre so that tomatoes and other horticulture products will be taken there for value addition. The project is only for youths; they were helped get the equipment by the International Labour Organisation and very soon, they will be going there to add value to their tomatoes,” says Mr Takura.
Quizzed on why value addition is taking long, Mr Takura suggests it may be due to the absence of a deliberate policy targeting farmers in this regard.
Online Reporter