ZimGold offers free sunflower seed to farmers to boost cooking oil production

ZIMBABWEAN cooking oil producer ZimGold is looking for sunflower farmers to contract this coming summer season.

The minimum hectarage is 10 ha but farmers can still benefit by forming clusters to reach up to 50 ha.

ZimGold will provide seed only with the farmer expected to source other inputs.

Sunflower seed is a key ingredient in the production of edible oils and is regarded as the second best after olive oil in terms of health benefits.

Zimbabwe largely extracts edible oils from soyabeans and cotton seed but output has not been adequate to feed local mills.

Last year, the country imported crude oil worth approximately U$200 million, according to statistics from the Zimbabwe National Statistical Agency, making it one of the most imported commodities in the country.

Zimbabwe is importing between 55 000 and 65 000 tonnes of sunflower oil from South Africa.

Addressing the Zimbabwe National Defence University (ZNDU) Course Number 12/23 who were on a domestic study tour at Fig Tree 8 Farm in Somabula yesterday, ZimGold supply chain manager Mr Zacharia Mupachike, said the company aims at establishing a sustainable source of one of key raw materials.

“ZimGold is looking for sunflower farmers to contract this coming summer season and the minimum hectares is 10 ha but farmers can still benefit by forming clusters. ZimGold will not deduct the cost of seed given to the farmer when they deliver their sunflower to ZimGold,” he said.

Mr Mupachike said the free sunflower seeds will definitely guarantee an offtake for local farmers.

“We are welcoming every farmer to this positive development. We are saying if you have less than 10 ha, form clusters where you are within Midlands, and we will give you the seed for free, visit our Gweru Offices and we will gladly assist you in growing cash with Sunflower. We have Ms Kudzai Katiyo for example who is in a cluster for Somabula farmers and that can be the case anyway. We are pushing the Government agenda towards food self-sufficient, and we also want to contribute towards making cooking oil sufficient in the country,” he said.

Mr Mupachike said there is enough land in the country that can be utilised to cut out cooking oil imports.

“We saw it as logical to empower locals to grow sunflowers, so as to reduce the import bill. We managed to garner 828 ha in Somabula and this has been possible because farmers have been forming consortiums or clusters,” he said.

The shortage of sunflower oil has added to the pressure that food price inflation is piling on consumers.

While prices have eased slightly recently as supplies trapped in Ukraine by the war in that country begin to trickle out, prices in many countries remain high enough to have a huge impact on poverty levels.