VP Mnangagwa
Farirai Machivenyika Senior Reporter—
Over 2 200 farmers have registered to take part in Government’s initiative to boost soya bean production in collaboration with various stakeholders from the soya bean value chain. Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa yesterday met various stakeholders in the sector at Munhumutapa Offices boardroom. “Following the successful implementation of the Special Programme on Maize Production for Import Substitution, which was approved by Cabinet on 29 July 2016, the model is being extended to other areas like soya bean production and Command Livestock, among others,” he said.
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“As of 31 July, 2017, 19 173 hectares had been registered under soya bean production by 2 246 farmers. The purpose of this meeting is to exhort interested parties along the entire soya bean value chain to engage in soya bean production, processing and marketing.
“This comes against the background that soya bean is a high value crop which benefits immensely from well coordinated planting, harvesting, processing and marketing.”
VP Mnangagwa said production levels of the crop had fallen from 112 326 tonnes in 2007 to 35 744 tonnes in 2016/2107, with Government spending $125 million in importing the shortfall.
“Importing soya bean or cake is a major drain on foreign currency and last year we spent $125 million on imports,” he said.
“On top of that we will also be exporting jobs so it is that $125 million that we want to be used internally. So, the way forward is for cooperation between the private and public sectors.”
A representative of the Oil Expressers Association Mr Rodreck Musiyiwa welcomed Government’s initiative to boost soya bean production.
“We are ready to take part in this initiative as soya bean is a critical raw material in our operations,” he said. “We will take part by supporting some of the farmers because our challenge has always been to have adequate raw materials, especially in light of the foreign currency shortages.”
Mr Graeme Murdoch of PHI Commodities echoed similar sentiments.
“This opportunity to participate in the production of soya beans is welcome as we want to move away from emphasising expressing oil from maize as is the current situation in the industry,” Mr Murdoch said.
University of Zimbabwe lecturer and expert in soya bean production Professor Sheunesu Mupepereki said the crop had potential to benefit the country.
“Soya bean has high protein content and can be important in enhancing health and nutrition of the country apart from it being used as a raw material in oil and stockfeed production,” he said.
“Our farmers also need to be adequately trained on its production given that it is a new crop to most of them.”
Zimbabwe needs 600 000 tonnes of soya beans to be self-sufficient.