Business confident about potential deals as ZAS opens

Oliver Kazunga
Senior Business Reporter

THE 112th edition of the Zimbabwe Agricultural Show (ZAS) started in Harare in earnest yesterday with exhibitors upbeat to clinch deals at the end of the five-day event that ends on Saturday.

ZAS is being held under the theme, “Unequalled Business Opportunities: Accessibility, Accountability and Abundance”.

About 600 exhibitors are showcasing at this year’s edition, which is being held for the first time in two years under a normal environment after the restrictions induced by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The exhibitors include agricultural implements suppliers, input producers, insurance firms, engineering and mining companies among others.

The Zimbabwe Commercial Rabbit Breeders Association (ZICORBA) president Regies Nyamakanga whose organisation was formed in July 2020 and is exhibiting at the show for the first time said their main objective of exhibiting at the show was to share experiences about rabbit production, processing and marketing.

The rabbit breeders association is showcasing a number of rabbit breeds that include New Zealand White, New Zealand Red, New Zealand Black, Cinnamon, Californian, Flemish Giant, Chinchilla Giganta, Angora, American Sable, and Magenta.

“Our main objective is to showcase the different aspects of rabbit farming and to encourage the majority of Zimbabweans, especially women and youth, to partake in cuniculture production to shore-up their livelihoods and income.

“Rabbit production is one of the fastest growing livestock sectors in Zimbabwe and one of the livestock value-chains that the Government is promoting under its five-year Livestock Growth Plan. Over the next three to five years, we expect the cuniculture sector to earn between US$2,5 million and US$5 million per year in domestic sales,” the ZICORBA boss said.

He said opportunities abound for the export of rabbit meat in the Africa region and beyond.

China is the single largest consumer of rabbit meat with an estimated deficit of 400 000 tonnes of rabbit meat per year.
In a separate interview Green Bubble director Mrs Tariro Nemukuyu said they were also exhibiting at ZAS for the first time.

“We are looking forward to a good trade show case which we are going to leverage on to secure markets for our products. We are into the production of indigenous fruit trees and traditional trees. Given their importance we are hopeful that by the time the show ends we would have clinched lucrative deals,” she said.

Mrs Nemukuyu said they are producing the indigenous fruit trees at their A2 farm in Macheke.

In a separate interview, Kurima Machinery & Technology sales executive Tanaka Chikomba whose firm is involved in supporting small-scale farmers with agricultural machinery and equipment said:

“This year we are expecting a better turn out compared to last year. Last year people were not that informed about the show as compared to this year because of the Covid-19 pandemic. People were scared to move around and interact.

“This year we are expecting to seal lucrative deals. Some of the machinery that we are supplying to farmers is a walking tractor that we introduced this year, maize shellers, milking machines, feed mixers, and hammer mills for processing stock feed like silage.”

The agriculture sector is one of Zimbabwe’s major economic mainstays and in the recent past the Government has continued to roll out a number of initiatives to boost productivity in the sector.

Such initiatives include the National Enhanced Agricultural Production Scheme, Presidential Climate Proofed and the Presidential Rural Horticulture and Livestock Programmes.

The agriculture sector has already hit the initial 2025 target of US$8,2 billion a year as the industry grew by 36,2 percent to US$8,19 billion in 2021.

In 2020, the Government launched the Agriculture and Food Systems Strategy as an integral part of the national development agenda being driven by President Mnangagwa.

The strategy is underpinned by growing the economy, ensuring Zimbabwe grows its own food and ensuring that a vast swathe of rural families moves from poverty to growing affluence with the production rises spread right across the sectors.

NRZ public relations manager Martin Banda said they were at the show to market the organisation’s agricultural side.

“We are coming here specifically to market our agricultural side, the core business being freight, the movement of commodities which relate to agriculture looking at grains, tobacco, fertiliser, and coal for tobacco curing, and the like.
“Remember, when the railways came here (Zimbabwe) it was the mines, we have got the coal which is then used for curing the tobacco which is also used for fueling the agricultural sector,” he said.

NRZ as Zimbabwe’s bulk carrier is used to transport goods destined for the export market as well as moving goods into Zimbabwe as well as taking them to their respective destinations that are linked to a rail network within the country.

“Under our diversified investments, we have got digital awareness campaigns where basically our loss and control security services are looking at those people who are affecting the movement of these commodities, specifically targeting the vandalism of railway property,” he said.

The movement of NRZ cargo is largely affected by vandalism of railway property through theft and illegal gold mining activities underneath railway lines.

You Might Also Like

Comments

Take our Survey

We value your opinion! Take a moment to complete our survey