adminLuthando Mapepa
VARIOUS exhibitors who showcased their works at the recently held three-day district agricultural show at Chipinge Primary School expressed concern over lack of adequate funds and exposure to keep their businesses alive.
The show ran under the theme: “Trading the Zim-Asset highway in Chipinge.”
Interviewed exhibitors said their major stumbling block was markets for their products as well as funds.
An A2 farmer, Mr Jacob Sithole from Mundanda, said they needed access to loans for them to produce at large scale.
“We are failing to secure loans from financial institutions because they are demanding collateral security which we do not have. Every year during the planting season we face these challenges of accessing funds and we end up utilising whatever resources within our reach. This has an impact on our produce. Government should intervene and help us to secure loans,” he said.
Another farmer, Mr Ronzai Damiso, said unavailability of markets for their products was one of the major problems facing Chipinge farmers.
“We are struggling to find markets to sell our produce here in Chipinge. We are usually left with no option but to sell our produce at give-away prices.
“We all know that our produce like bananas, sweet potatoes and maize are on high demand in other places, but here buyers offer us little when they buy our produce. We are not getting value for our produces,” he said.
A carpenter, Moses Sidhuna, said they were failing to meet demand from their customers because they were not operating at full scale.
“We are always under pressure from customers because we have limited capital to buy good timber and state-of-the-art machines to produce wood products at a large scale.
“At some point established firms approach us with the intention of buying our products, but at the end we fail to meet their needs because we are failing to access loans to buy the equipment needed,” Mr Sidhuna said.
Ms Aidah Mapungwana of Chenai Garments, who is into textile business, said she needed funds to spread her tentacles across the district.
She said although they were facing competition from established players, chances of making it to the top were bright.
“I am now focusing on supplying school uniforms mostly to schools in the district, but at times I fail to meet the demand because of limited resources. We have the potential to grow if we get funds to boost our small business,” she said.
Deputy Minister of Information, Communication and Courier Services Dr Win Mlambo, who officially opened the show, said SMEs play a key role in reviving the economy of the country.
“The SMSs are listed in Zim-Asset as key drivers of the economy hence there are solutions in place to fund them,” he said.
Online Reporter