The ManicaPost
Samuel Kadungure : Farming Reporter
DELAYS by Government in approving the national coffee sector development strategy crafted in 2014 with the aim to rejuvenate the ailing sector has been fingered as one of the reasons affecting its growth.Those involved in the coffee sector who last week converged at an inter-district coffee field day at smallholder farmer, Mr Samuel Nyakuchena’s homestead in Honde Valley – said the Government was effectively frustrating efforts to breathe life into the sector by delaying approving the policy document.
“The draft was handed to the ministry in 2014 after a series of alterations and that was that. It is a disservice because we will need to flag that policy document to potential investors so that they can identify investment opportunities. The security of investment is derived from the policy direction. We do not know what is happening at that level,” said an official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The national coffee development strategy was crafted in line with the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (Zim-Asset), the Zimbabwe Agriculture Investment Plan (ZAIP) and the 10-point plan focusing on poverty alleviation, economic growth and job creation.
Agriculture Ministry, Dr Joseph Made, in a speech delivered on his behalf by the permanent secretary, Mr Ringson Chitsiko, acknowledged the existence of the policy document which he said was still going through Government approval processes.
“The Government, through the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development and in consultation with the coffee industry produced a national coffee sector development strategy. The document is currently going through Government approval processes. The broad objective is to vitalise the coffee sector in line with the Zim-Asset, ZAIP and the 10-point plan focusing on poverty alleviation, economic growth and job creation,” said Dr Made.
The strategy will contribute positively to the achievement of the four critical and strategic Zim-Asset clusters – Food Security and Nutrition, Social Services and Poverty Eradication, Infrastructure and Utilities and Value Addition and Beneficiation.
According to the draft, the strategic vision is to establish a vibrant coffee sector through reviving and boosting coffee production in former and new coffee growing areas of Zimbabwe for all farming sectors.
The initiative aims at ensuring the transformation of the coffee sector to a sustainable one in terms of social, economic, environmental and financial pillars, and in addition, putting Zimbabwe on the world market map again.
“The strategy requires $61.593 million to be implemented over a five-year period, with 74.5 percent ($45.883 million) being required in the first two years,” reads part of the draft.
The projects within the strategy include the maintenance of existing coffee plantations, establishment of 4,700ha of coffee with participation of about 30 percent women and 20 percent youth farmers, establishing an appropriate funding model, infrastructure development (including rehabilitation and maintenance of existing), value addition; i.e. coffee roasting; Participatory Market Systems Development (PMSD), establishment and strengthening of zonal coffee farmer associations and a national association, promoting the branding of Zimbabwean coffee, strengthening research and extension on coffee and capacitating coffee farming communities.
“There are quick wins opportunities for local value addition under the auspices of Zim-Asset and the 10-Point Plan which I urge farmers to take full advantage of. I would want to express my appreciation on the important role and participation of our developmental partners, notably the European Union (EU), Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), World Bank, USAID and DFID, in the coffee production.
“The coffee industry should take advantage of the various programmes that seek to unblock farmers’ constraints and improve livelihoods for farmers at the same time earning the country the much-needed foreign currency,” said Dr Made, adding that deliberate efforts should be made to fuse women and youths in coffee production.
Zimbabwe has the ability and is known to produce very high quality mild washed Arabica coffee, noted for its balanced acidity, body and consistent quality.
The country with the assistance from EU introduced coffee to smallholder growers in 1982 as a way to bring the marginalised group into the mainstream economy by producing strategic crops.
The country has more than three state-of-the-art coffee mills which are located in Mutare and Chipinge, with a combined annual processing capacity of 50 000Mt.
Traditionally, coffee used to be the country’s fifth most important foreign currency earner, with over 95 percent of total production being exported.
The coffee industry was built on two distinct models namely, large-scale and smallholder sectors.
At its peak the total area under coffee in Zimbabwe was about 8,000 hectares and production reached an all-time high of 14,664Mt in 1988/9 season, of which Arabica coffee comprised nearly 99 percent of the production.
The sector employed well over 20 000 people then.
Zimbabwe has current markets for raw coffee in Netherlands, USA, Germany, South Africa Canada, Australia and the UK with potential markets in Japan and China.
“Several challenges over the last decade have resulted in the decline of coffee production in the country to about 700t in 2015. Production is expected to reach 750t in 2016.
“Currently there are about 800 active smallholder coffee farmers in the country, all in Manicaland. At one point the number of smallholder coffee growers was close to 3000. Therefore, there is potential to diversify crop production options in other provinces as a way to mitigate against crop failures due to climate change induced droughts,” said Dr Made.
