Zimbabwe exporting 50% chillis to Nandos SA

Zimbabwean farmers are reportedly now supplying 50% of chillis to a top South African fast food outlet, Nandos, proving beyond reasonable doubt that the country has the capacity to produce and export, an agricultural expert has said.

Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of a conservation farming field day in Gokwe on Tuesday, Better Agriculture field extension officer Wages Chimhanda said Zimbabwe exports 320 tonnes of chillis to South Africa.

"We have been working alone as Better Agriculture, but recently we partnered with SIMBA (Sustainable Intensification of Market Based Agriculture) and, through them, managed to find a market for our farmers in South Africa," Chimhanda said.

"This chillis project covers 1 295 households in Gokwe and it is also found in other areas such as Zaka, Dewure, Honde Valley, Pfungwe and Panganayi."

SIMBA is a programme under Welthungerhilfe (WHH), an international non-governmental organisation funded by European Union which teaches farmers sustainable agricultural methods.

Chimhanda said the chillis project had significantly and variously improved the lives of Gokwe villagers.

"The type of chillis required by Nandos South Africa is called African Bird's Eye. Farmers sell it at $2,85 per kilogram if it is grade A and $1,80 per 1kg grade B," he said.

"We export it to Nandos after making all the final touches at $4 per kg. It is then finally processed and packaged in South Africa. This chillis project has in a way replaced the cotton project which was no longer profitable to our farmers. Last year cotton was sold at 30c per 1kg."

Gokwe South district administrator Edwin Mashindi said there was still need for diversification and value addition.

"Now that we are producing for Nandos South Africa, it is a very good step. But we wish also to be able to export finished products.
There should be industries that deal with the packaging of our products to create jobs for our people," Mashindi said.

"What was killing the cotton industry was the contractual structure. Farmers would get inputs from the contractor and they would get products equivalent to their inputs, hence the farmer would be left with nothing."

He said while Gokwe South was expecting a bumper harvest this year after many years of hunger, some areas were affected by floods.

"Areas such as Nemangwe 12 and Marundi were flooded. Seeds were eroded and crops were destroyed. There were also four deaths recorded," Mashindi said.

Project manager for WHH SIMBA project Thomas Heyland said they were not only teaching Gokwe farmers sustainable farming methods, but also sourcing markets to sell their products.

"It is our hope that in future we will be able to facilitate value addition of their produce here so that they may increase their income and create employment in these marginalised communities," Heyland said.