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Mukudzei Chingwere Herald Reporter
The attainment of national agriculture targets is dependent on farmers thinking beyond crop and meat production and embracing the creation of industrial agrifood systems around farms and maximising productivity.
Vice President Dr Constantino Chiwenga’s Chivaraidze Farm is on the cusp of achieving these standards, with the farm not only being put to full and maximum production, but also going full throttle on value-addition.
Zimbabwe is currently implementing the Agriculture and Food Systems Transformation Strategy through which President Mnangagwa is targeting to modernise and industrialise the agriculture sector towards resilient, climate proof and sustainable productivity that will not only guarantee national food security but one that will stand tall on the international export market.
On Saturday, Vice President Chiwenga, himself a devout Catholic, accepted a request by Catholic Bishops to tour his farm as they sought to tap from his success in preparation of commercialising their own farming land across the country.
After the tour, commercial farmers who were present thought highly of the way the farm is taking off, with Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Dr Anxious Masuka describing it as a result of “organisational dexterity reflective of the leadership of the Vice President”.
As part of its developmental masterplan, Chivaraidze Farm is in the process of building manufacturing capacity right at the source, and on completion will result in finished food products being produced at the farm.
At the centre of this ambitious plan is Dr Kudzai Dominic Chiwenga, an internationally acclaimed agronomist with extensive experience working in production and operational management roles within the agrifood industry.
Dr Chiwenga, son to Vice President Chiwenga, is also a lecturer in the Department of Operations and Supply Chain Management (OSCM) at University of Liverpool Management School and has previously won the dean’s prize for innovation and impact in doctoral research.
He also lectures at the University of Zimbabwe, and after yesterday’s tour of Chivaraidze Farm he spoke about the unravelling masterplan.
“What we are trying to do is to create a whole food system, a value chain that encompasses the whole supply chain so that we have additional beneficiation for the whole agrifood system, unlike in the past where agriculture has been purely where we just produce either grains or meat then export and lose value through the process,” said Dr Chiwenga.
“What we are trying to do now is to have all the processes done at the farm. This creates more job opportunities; it enhances the skills of our employees; it also increases the tax base that means that every process is now being done here.
“So, here at Chivaraidze Farm we are mainly doing whole agrifood systems. We have got animals; we have got sheep, goats, cattle and pigs. For the pigs we are developing a 2 000 sow unit; for cattle we are developing a 3 000 cattle pan unit; for the sheep we are doing a 1 000 lambing unit and for the goats we are doing 1 200 goats unit and these will have abattoirs built on the farm.”
“For the cattle, lamb and goats this is going to be Halal slaughtered because we want to target the Middle-East market. We have interest in UAE (United Arab Emirates), we have interest in Saudi Arabia and in Egypt. Hopefully come next year we will be exporting all our products there. In relation to the pigs, which is going to be a separate abattoir away from the Halal abattoirs that will be for the local market.
“We are going to do some traditional processing on the farm that is ham and salami, pork related products that we can do and sell as well to the local market.”
Dr Chiwenga said they were also into various crops at the farm.
“On the crop side, the farm is growing maize, soya beans and wheat with silos with a potential to hold 10 000 tonnes of grain are taking shape,” he said. “There is also scope for a milling plant; there also will be dry freezing of products; so the farm also does flour manufacturing and a bakery. We are also going to be doing fruit drying as well. This is on top of the abattoir.
“In addition we were one of the first farms to get a license to do cannabidiol which is a non-intoxicating hemp. What we want to get from it is the oil which is what we refer to as CBD and this is so important because it has many benefits from health, cosmetic industry and the fiber has 30 different uses from paper to clothing it can even be used to make air bus wings.”
CBD production is already ongoing at the farm and the marketing plan is to export the finished products to Switzerland and South Africa.
All this envisaged industrial boom, which has already taken shape, is being done with a human face with the Chiwenga family having built a fully-fledged clinic, complete with staff accommodation to cater for the health needs of the community.
The family has also built a primary school which is now being revamped to meet world class standards and plans are afoot to construct a new science, technology, engineering and mathematics oriented school.
The school, said Dr Chiwenga, will soon have state-of-the-art sporting facilities and plans are afoot for a STEM dedicated secondary school.
“So, we have innovation hubs so that people in the farming community are also incorporated and they come in and they learn all these skills,” said Dr Chiwenga.
Vice President Chiwenga said the social corporate responsibility draws inspiration from his late mother, Chivaraidze, who had a big heart and loved to take care of people.
VP Chiwenga said they were brought up thinking his mother had 28 children after she incorporated some of their cousins and took care of them just as her own children.
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