Zimbabwe plans an input of US$ 8 million into increasing production in the breakfast category of the country as Grain Millers expect a bumper harvest this season as a favourable amount of rain has been recorded in the farming period. Their expectations are reliant on a possible amount of two million tonnes of grain to be delivered to the Grain Marketing Board (GMB).
Experts have also stated peculiar measures which the government can leverage on for more investments to add value to the sector and reduce losses which may occur after harvest, noting that adequate support should be put in place to support local industries in the sector.
Commenting on the situation, the Vice Chairman of the Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ), Mr Chipo Nheta said:
“There is going to be excess in the region and it is very important for us to manage this sustainably.
“We are looking at US$8 investment in the breakfast category and starting March next year, we should see more products in this category on the market” said Mr Nheta during a recent virtual meeting on preparedness for the 2020/21 agricultural marketing season with Ministry of Agriculture Secretary Dr John Basera that featured various stakeholders from across the value chain.
“This time we will get raw materials locally unlike in the past where we needed to import. But we want Government to intervene on imports so that millers fully benefit and all those across value chains.”
The government of the country has also stated its readiness to put in place measures to help Farmers in the post-harvest season, with a representative, Mr Martin Munyati from Department of Mechanisation, explaining that post-harvest loss is an area of concern to tackle. He said: “One of the major challenges farmers face is post-harvest losses and if they are not assisted then we are looking at billions of dollars lost”. A huge boost in harvest and production is expected from the government’s plan to invest in the sector to prevent post-harvest losses.
