Storage upgrade for Kwekwe’s 2024/2025 harvest

THE Grain Marketing Board (GMB) depot expansion in Kwekwe is nearing completion, with the new silos and driers now 85 percent complete.

The upgraded facility is expected to be operational by April, just in time to store the 2024/2025 harvest.
This development is a significant boost to local farmers, who previously faced a hefty US$600 fee per 30-tonne trip to Chegutu for silo storage.

The expansion includes seven new silos and driers, increasing the depot’s capacity to store up to 56 000 tonnes of grain. The driers are equipped to handle grains efficiently before distribution to millers and other depots.

Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister, Dr Jenfan Muswere, praised the expansion, saying it addresses a long-standing gap in grain storage, benefitting both local farmers and the wider community.

Dr Muswere said food security and self-sufficiency were among the targets set by President Mnangagwa since the Second Republic came into office in 2018.

“This progress speaks of Vision 2030. It speaks of food security and nutrition, food security and self-sufficiency. Last year, the country recorded a bumper harvest in terms of winter wheat, meaning we are secure in terms of grain. With these silos, we have secure places to keep the grain to minimise post-harvest losses,” said Dr Muswere.

Midlands provincial mechanisation head engineer, Andrew Mupariwa, highlighted the province’s previous challenge of bulk storage, which forced farmers to transport grains to Chegutu.

“As Midlands province, we had been facing a challenge of bulk storage… This has come as a welcome move because we now have bulk storage,” he said.

Each silo has an 8 000-tonne capacity, which will help curb post-harvest losses.
The project has already generated employment for Kwekwe residents during the construction phase and is expected to stimulate further economic growth in the Midlands province.

Kwekwe District, known for its high maize and wheat production, is one of the top producers in the region. Prominent farmers, including the First Family’s Pricabe Farm and Mr Douglas Kwande’s DCK Investments, are driving impressive yields.

President Mnangagwa recently highlighted Pricabe Farm’s impressive achievement of an average yield of 11,3 tonnes per hectare, well above the previous owner’s record of eight tonnes per hectare.

With the final silos nearing completion, the project is expected to be fully completed soon. A similar storage project is set to begin in Gokwe District, further improving grain storage capacity in the Midlands.