Tapuwa Mashangwa, Agriculture Column
SUCCESS is not an overnight event but a lengthy process that needs to be planned for meticulously. As the famous quote goes, “failure to plan is planning to fail”.

For argument sake, experts believe the principal factor that stifles technological advancement in Africa is largely the lack of funding to spur growth and in agriculture, capital is the basis for agribusiness functionality.

Ideas and capital are co-dependent powerful variables that can streamline the growth. The absence of one greatly affects the other. With our ample universities, colleges, polytechnics and online courses, surely ideas are in abundance but the availability of capital is a straining factor.

In South Africa, a new development in agriculture is roof farming, a concept largely popular in developed countries where landownership is a costly affair.

One of the recognised pioneers of South African roof farming is Nhlanhla Mpati.

The roof farming project, called the Urban Agriculture Initiative, was launched by “Wouldn’t It Be Cool” (WIBC), a South African incubation and mentorship organisation, which helps entrepreneurs get started.

The success of this project has already resulted in Department of Small Business Development providing funding for another 100 small-scale farms to be rolled out in the inner Johannesburg city.

A roof farm is a rooftop that is converted into an agricultural growing space. Roof farms are either open-air or greenhouse.

The main advantages of roof farms is that they reduce the temperature of roofs and the surrounding air simultaneously decreasing the costs of cooling and energy consumption of the building. Roof farms also help control rain water as the water is utilised by the plants thereby reducing combined sewer overflows (CSOs) and decreasing costs incurred in water treatment.

Roof farming also help control carbon emissions in urban areas by eliminating the need for                                                       food to be transported from out of city areas and which also improves consumer access to fresh and healthy food.

The urban landscape especially that of most African cities is full of under-utilised rooftops/roofs.

The urban architectural landscape is filled with concrete, brick and metal structures as the greenery is usually removed or considered unnecessary. Roof farming therefore contributes in establishing biodiversity and provides a place for insects and birds.

Factors to be considered before venturing into roof farming are the scale, infrastructure, location, availability of natural inputs, crop varieties and the financial investment.

In terms of scale the main consideration is that the project investment should permit the project to be economically viable unless the farming produce is solely for household consumption. Depending on one’s financial strength hydroponics, vertical gardening, aeroponics and air-dynaponics systems can be exploited.

In all things agricultural, profitability is dependent on the market henceforth the produce varieties and cultivars determine whether the produce will be    bought and if the venture will yield positive cashflows after the overall running costs of the operation are covered.

Roof farming would definitely require constructional assessment made of the roof as dirt and wet soil are heavy. The structure, water proofing and weight bearing pillars should be evaluated and the apt individual for this assessment would be a structural engineer.

Availability of elements like sunlight, water and electricity are a requisite. Electricity would play a vital role for irrigation accessories but for storage it wouldn’t be that needed as the market for the produce is in the central business districts of most cities or towns thereby ensuring that produce is freshly delivered.

With easily accessible and affordable marketing platforms that include Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in Zimbabwe, finding clients for the produce is not an issue. According to Anstasia Cole Plakias <https://www.wnyc.org/story/looking-place-farm-start-looking/?utm_ource=Newsletter co-founder of Brooklyn Grange, a rooftop farming company that has been in business since 2010, “While good money can be made from organic rooftop farming, there are additional income opportunities that can be explored to supplement the farmer’s income and to overcome the initial payment delays.”

*Eng Tapuwa Justice Mashangwa, Group CEO of Emerald International Consortium and CEO of Emerald Agribusiness Consultancy based in Harare and Bulawayo. He can be contacted on +263 771 641 714 and email: [email protected]