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Conrad Mupesa
Mashonaland West Bureau
COMPANIES in the food manufacturing industries should complement the Government by supporting the agricultural sector where most of their raw materials are produced, an official has said.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony on Sunday of at least 70 Agritex officers drawn from Makonde district, Deputy Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Cde Kindness Paradza said support for agriculture will help cut the import bill.

While the Second Republic through various schemes has been supporting farmers in its agriculture turnaround plan, production of groundnuts across the country has solely remained an activity conducted by the farmers themselves and mostly rural women.

In a bid to cut groundnut importation to meet its production requirements, a local company, Odzi Food Industries (OFI), has injected US$130 000 worth of inputs and tillage services to farmers in Makonde and Mhangura constituencies.

This was done with a view of increasing groundnut production, while at the same time breathing life into the firm’s operations through the availability of the raw material. OFI chief executive officer, Mr David Jazire, said the company had a three-year pilot project in Chitomborwizi in Makonde district contracting 800 farmers who gave an average 700 tonnes.

“The expansion of the contract farming scheme is targeting all the 19 wards in the district with a view of meeting our target of 3 000 tonnes of groundnuts,” he said.