Arda to set up export zone in Mbire district

The Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (ARDA) is setting up an export procurement hub for horticultural crops at its Muzarabani Estate to increase outgrower participation in Mbire District.

Speaking during a tour of Mushumbi Estate last week, ARDA chairman Mr Basil Nyabadza said they were training farmers on the production of ginger, garlic, lemon grass, among other herbal crops.

“We need to embrace President Mnangagwa’s Vision 2030 of transforming the country into an upper class middle income economy through rural development programmes,” he said.

“Mbire residents should be self-sufficient and this will help lessen the burden on the Government, especially on food assistance.

“We want Mbire to become the centre for procurement of such crops for onward marketing to other regional and international destinations.”

Mr Nyabadza urged villagers to lessen their focus on traditional crops which do not earn them a lot of money.

“We are under clear instruction from our Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement Cde Perrance Shiri to transform villages through crops, knowledge and extension,” he  said.

“We are growing the number of herbs to expand our crop production model underpinned by the desire for exports.

“Villagers must grow less of the traditional crops because the area experiences high temperatures and those crops are not productive in the market, they have to grow agricultural export products which bring in foreign currency.

“We hope that next year we will have a field day at one of the villagers’ fields so that we can get a buy-in from other villagers.”

One of the partners at Mushumbi Estate, Mr Luarie Flanagan, said they were supporting Mbire residents with employment, as well as knowledge on how to grow export products using natural resources.

“We employ 450 to 500 people in Kanyemba and we notice that there is quite an improvement in people’s lives since we started operating here,” he said.

“We are teaching them how to apply scientific organic methods in agriculture which are in line with the European and American standards. We don’t use fertilisers, chemicals or herbicides in our farming methods.

“Currently, we are using 10 tonnes per hectare of manure as a substitute for fertiliser. We are using pheromone traps to control army and bore worms.

“We have a good export market for Moringa, we produced three tonnes and we have sold two-and-a-half tonnes to date.”

One of the villagers, who is undergoing training, Mrs Kenlope Marongera, thanked Arda for its intervention which she said had rescued them from poverty and starvation.

“We are optimistic that by this time next year we will be producing herbal tea for export,” she said.