Chronicle Editor
Vincent Gono in Mwenezi, News Editor
COMMUNITIES in Mwenezi district are set to benefit from the setting up of a multi-service agro-processing plant whose value is estimated to be around US$400 000 on completion at Rutenga by Sustainable Agriculture Technology (SAT).
The plant will process paprika, sesame, small grain crops and other spices for local and export markets and its equipment is expected to be installed next week. The project feeds into the Second Republic’s rural industrialisation initiative whose import is to see industrial activity being launched based on factor endowments which define and drive economic activity for the benefit of the local people.
Following his visit to Mwenezi last week, News Editor, Vincent Gono (VG) interviewed SAT’s Deputy Country Director, Mr Lloyd Masunda (LM), who confirmed that they have moved into Mwenezi and set up an agro-processing plant whose paprika component established under the PapriAfrika (Pvt) limited banner would be one of the biggest plants in the country with a capacity to process 300 tonnes of milled paprika per year. There would be several benefits to small holder communal farmers in the district who would be responsible for feeding the plant with the crop. Excerpts of the interview are below.
VG: You have put up a paprika processing plant in Mwenezi District. Is it true that it will be the largest paprika plant in Zimbabwe?
LM: What we have put up at Rutenga Industrial Park in Mwenezi is a multi-service agro-processing centre for processing various agricultural commodities, including paprika, sesame, other spices and small grains. Currently, we are almost completing the paprika value addition centre where the equipment will be installed next week, while work on the sesame value addition centre has also commenced. In future we intend to add other value addition centres, funds permitting, and small grains could be the next target. At entry level, our paprika processing centre, established under the PapriAfrika (Pvt) Limited banner, will have the capacity to process 300 tonnes of milled paprika per annum, making it one of the biggest paprika plants in the country. This work is being supported by the Italian Agency for Development Corporation (AICS) under the Seeds for the Future (SEFF) project.
VG: How many hectares of land have you put up in Mwenezi to grow paprika to feed into the plant and are there prospects of increasing them?
LM: In our first season (2022-2023), we facilitated paprika production on at least 80 hectares in Mwenezi. This included 15 hectares produced under a joint venture partnership between Lapache Irrigation Scheme and our organisation, SAT and on other irrigation schemes and gardens in the district. Our role is to provide paprika seed, training, extension support and market linkages. In the current season (2023-2024) we expect the hectarage in Mwenezi to reach at least 150. The paprika processing plant will be serviced by smallholder farmers from the three districts targeted by the SEFF project (Chiredzi, Masvingo and Mwenezi). In addition, more paprika will also be supplied by smallholder farmers from Makoni district where SAT has been actively supporting the paprika value chain since 2020, with support from the European Union. At least 480 hectares will be under paprika production in Makoni district this season, up from 418 hectares last season.
VG: What motivated your choice of Mwenezi District for the project and are there other districts that you have been growing and processing paprika?
LM: The SEFF project was conceived as a response to a call for proposals by AICS sometime in 2021. The donor had identified Mwenezi as one of the priority districts. Rutenga in Mwenezi district is also strategically positioned as an ideal site for the processing centre given its proximity to neighbouring South Africa. The site is close to the newly refurbished Harare-Beitbridge Road and the railway line linking Zimbabwe to South Africa and Mozambique. There are plans by the Government of Zimbabwe to establish a dry port at Rutenga, which will open up massive opportunities for exports.
VG: What is the benefit to the community and how does it feed into the rural industrialisation initiative?
LM: The community benefits in many ways. The multi-service agro-processing centre provides a last-mile access to off-take markets, thereby reducing exploitation of smallholder farmers by middlemen who have previously short-changed farmers. Increased production across all the targeted value chains (paprika, sesame, other spices and small grains) will create employment opportunities for locals and service contracts for other value chain actors (eg transporters). For example, paprika requires at least 200 labour days per hectare. Under the joint venture with Lapache, communities benefitted from knowledge transfer on how to grow paprika commercially, job opportunities and a dividend equivalent to nine percent of gross sales that will be paid out to Lapache Irrigation Scheme at the end of October 2023 when the selling season ends. Lapache will also retain ownership of a 20-hectare centre pivot that has been purchased under the project. The ownership structure of the two companies processing the paprika and sesame — PapriAfrika and SesAfrika — also accommodates participation of smallholder farmers through their farmer associations who have a significant shareholding in the two businesses.
VG: Mwenezi is generally dry, where are you getting the water to grow paprika?
LM: Mwenezi district has big water bodies that include the Mwenezi River and the Manyuchi Dam as well as several smallholder irrigation schemes on over 300 hectares of irrigable land — Chizumba (65ha), Dinhe (55ha), Lapache (100ha), Manhumamwe (6ha), Mokambi (28ha), Murove (40ha), Pikinini/Jamanda (150ha), and Musaverema (34ha). In addition, the district also benefits from the Tugwi-Mukosi Dam in neighbouring Chivi district. The new Runde-Tende Dam, that will export water all the way to Polokwane in South Africa, will also benefit Mwenezi district and open opportunities for plantation crops and horticulture development in Mwenezi district. Runde-Tende Dam will have 50 000ha of irrigation capacity once completed.
VG: How much did you plough into the project and are there prospects for export, do you have ready markets?
LM: So far, at least US$310 000 has been spent on the multi-service agro-processing centre. This includes funds for the purchase of steel sheds, storage containers, a brick making machine, delivery truck and processing equipment for paprika and sesame as well as funds spent on the electrification of the centre and construction of buildings and ablution facilities at the centre. More investments are expected in future. There are huge prospects for exporting the processed products and since March 2023 we have hosted several high-level delegations of potential offtakers from South Africa, USA, Spain and Japan.
VG: Are there any other projects that you have been doing in Mwenezi or any other districts in the country and what are their success rates?
LM: SAT has implemented several agricultural development projects in many parts of the country since 2007, with financial support from the EU, USAID, DFID, FAO, WFP and other donors. In Mwenezi, we implemented the EU-supported Beef Enterprise Strengthening and Transformation (BEST) project between 2019 and July 2023 and this was highly successful. At Lapache in Mwenezi, SAT established a Cattle Business Centre and 50 hectares of irrigated pastures. The BEST project helped boost the incomes and knowledge of small to medium sized beef producers in the district. Under the BEST project SAT spearheaded implementation in four districts – Mwenezi, Chiredzi, Lupane and Umguza. Since last year, SAT has also been implementing the WFP-funded Integrated Resilience Programme in wards 2, 5, 7 and 12 in Mwenezi district. This project is helping increase productive capacity at four vegetable gardens that have been supported with greenhouses, innovative cold rooms and solar dryers. The gardens have also been linked to the market and their committees trained in business management.
Bongani Ndlovu