The ManicaPost
Tendai Gukutikwa
Post Reporter
SMALL-HOLDER farmers who intend to penetrate foreign markets have been urged to formalise their businesses so that they can increase their income and market opportunities.
Speaking during a market linkages workshop hosted by Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in Mutare recently, Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises’ Manicaland business development officer, Ms Mildred Kupera said formalising farming businesses eases the export journey and grows the businesses.
“Formalisation has several advantages which include the creation of stronger business relationships with both local and foreign markets. We have had incidences where local farmers were asked by foreign companies to provide proof that they are registered and comply with the local tax regulations, but failed to do so. They ended up losing lucrative contracts because they were not formalised.
“Foreign markets and businesses want a relationship that will last and if your farming business is registered, they will have confidence in you,” she said.
Ms Kupera urged farmers to take advantage of the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises to facilitate the formalisation of their businesses.
“Once formalised, you get easy access to loans and international markets. We also encourage farmers to form associations as there are many advantages that come with it,” she said.
Speaking during the same workshop, City of Mutare’s assistant community services officer, Ms Maybe Muza said once farmers have formalised their businesses, they will not be forced to engage unscrupulous middlemen to sell their produce.
“Middlemen, popularly known as makoronyera, are harassing farmers, mainly because most of the farmers are not formalised and therefore lack knowledge on how to penetrate markets. These middlemen have become a big thorn in the flesh and for this issue to be dealt with, there is need for formalisation of the agriculture sector and the creation of a database of registered farmers.
“As council, we have tried to contact the real farmers, not middlemen, and we failed to do so because there is no database. When we called for a meeting with farmers, middlemen filled up the hall and claimed to be farmers. We later discovered that they were not farmers,” she said.
Save Irrigation Schemes Marketing Association chairman, Mr Tafadzwa Maibvise bemoaned the shortage of small-holder unregistered farmers in Manicaland saying this results in them missing out on accessing export markets.
“Unregistered farmers end up selling their produce to middlemen for a song. This is affecting agri-business,” he said.
In a statement, FAO communication specialist, Mr Donald Tafadzwa Chidoori said the organisation facilitated the market linkages workshop to ensure linkages of farmers of high value crops and off-takers through matchmaking activities.
The workshop also seek to revive or establish new grower groups.
The statement reads in part: “Under the market linkages intervention, targeted farmers are being supported to strengthen business relationships with input and output players; to further sustain gains from agricultural production and market linkages.
