Mutare farmers have bemoaned lack of credit lines and proliferation of cheap imports from neighboring countries for limited growth in the province’s soya bean sector.
By Hillary Munedzi
Despite the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) estimating a spike in industrial capacity utilization will increase to about 60 percent by year end, Manicaland farmers and business people are still concerned by the lack of progress on the raft of measures being implemented by government to curtail the importation of finished products into the local economy.
One farmer who spoke to 263Chat on condition of anonymity said the country’s obtaining business environment is not conducive for soya bean production.
“As a soya bean farmer, its very hard to realize profit when the sole buyer is your contractor and the Grain Marketing Board. The business environment is not conducive for one to invest in Soybean production.
“So, for manufacturers its cheaper to buy from regional countries than to buy from GMB and this will hinder farmers from growing soybeans, so if we could import large quantities of soya bean why not invest that money and grow the crop locally.
The decline in soybean production is attributable to low yields, high production costs and ineffective policy implementation,” said the farmer.
Manicaland has some of the best soils for soya bean production and many farmers are taking it up as their cash crop.
Areas like Middle Sabi, Makoni ,Mutasa,Nyanga and Chisumbanje produced good quality soya bean crop.
Economist, Victor Bhoroma said soya bean production was not a viable venture both for small holder or commercial farmers in Manicand.
“The current model in Soya bean production is not viable at both small holder or commercial level as cost of production outweighs return so its difficult for venture capitalist to crowd in on funding, “said economist Victor Bhoroma.
He added that a lot that needs to be done to address issues on the supply side and government intervention has helped as a catalyst to address challenges bedeviling the sector.
“Supply side intervention through addressing the pricing side creating access to market soya farmers. The just launched Zimbabwe Mercantile Exchange (ZMX) platform that will allow farmers to trade about 18 commodities excluding maize addresses these pain points and helps unlock capital for farmers since soya farming is capital intensive, ”said Mr Bhoroma.
Meanwhile, United Refineries Limited (URL) a Bulawayo based product manufacturer in the soya bean value chain has targeted to finance 7500 hectares that will realize 15000 tonnes which will represent close to 15-20 percent capacity of its plant and they are working on alliances with contractors and farmers so that they increase their capacity.
The move will help Manicaland soya bean farmers with significant additional resources and capital.
According to UN Comtrade an Annual International Trade Statistics source, Zimbabwe imported soybean oil that totalling US$169 million in 2020, 77 percent higher than 2019 figure of US$56 million.
