Business Reporter
AGRO industrial company Alliance Ginneries has installed a 10 000 tonne cotton seed processing plant in Norton, making it the country’s second cotton seed processor. Alliance, which is involved in every facet of the cotton value chain will focus on seed multiplication of Government bred varieties, head of operations Mr Peter Chapoterera said.“The plant has the capacity to meet all domestic planting seed requirements including the Government input scheme,” Mr Peter Chapoterera told The Herald Business, adding that the company was in the process of exploring export markets in the region.
Through its large farmer base across the country, Alliance has embarked on cotton seed multiplication programme through contract farming scheme. The varieties being multiplied by the company are SZ 9314, CRI-MSI and CRI-MS2. These varieties are bred by the Cotton Research Institute, which falls under the Ministry of Agriculture.
At its peak, cotton production was the major source of income and livelihood for rural communities around the Gokwe, Sanyati, Rushinga and Checheche. It also accounted for close to a fifth of agricultural exports.
However, several challenges facing the sector, particularly funding, side marketing and poor rainfall resulted in output continuously falling.
Other factors undermining cotton production include successive decline in global cotton prices, also against the background of competition from such substitutes as synthetic fibres.
The output decline is notwithstanding installed ginnery capacity of 427 000 tonnes of seed cotton.
As such, Mr Chapoterera said Alliance would continue working with the Government through CRI to improve cotton yields and productivity for the benefit of the farmers.
“The company will achieve this by paying royalties, which are used by Cotton Research Institute for research and development, thereby improving cotton yields,” he said.
Many farmers have shown interests in participating under the company’s contract scheme.
“I have grown SZ 9314 seed crop on behalf of Alliance Ginneries and achieved a good yield of about 2 000 kilogrammes on dry land,” said Mr Darlington Mahole of Sanyati.
Mr Nicholas Jeri from Chechenyetu in Gokwe North said despite erratic rainfall experienced last season, his six-hectare of seed crop of SZ 9314 performed better than expected.
“I am expecting to get a premium from the sale of my seed to Alliance,” said Mr Jeri.
Before the installation of the Alliance seed processing plant, Quton was the only cotton planting seed-company in Zimbabwe involved in breeding, processing and marketing to small scale farmers in the region.
Listed seed breeder Seed-Co had a 60 percent controlling equity in Quton before it sold it to an Indian company Mahyco in 2014.