Macadamia harvesting begins

17 Jan, 2020 - 00:01 0 Views
Macadamia harvesting begins There has been a marked decline in the trade of the green diamond this year compared to last season

The ManicaPost

Luthando Mapepa, Chipinge Correspondent

MACADAMIA harvesting for the 2020 marketing season has started with growers pressing for better pricing regime unlike past seasons where they were thrust into a “quality nuts and poor price” dilemma.

The growers’ hope for a win-win deal are pinned in the recently gazetted Statutory Instrument 138 of 2019 (Agricultural Marketing Authority, Macadamia Nuts Regulations), which gives registered farmers bargaining power for their crop.

The new regulations came into full force last year following an outcry from farmers who were swindled of quality nuts by unscrupulous buyers.

Farmers who spoke to The Manica Post this week were optimistic that they would get a fair and lucrative deal this season.

Last season raw nuts were pegged at US$3 per kilogramme compared to US$12 in South Africa.

This season farmers are hedging for at least US$5 per kilo.

Mr Donald Nkomo, of Clearwater, said they had started harvesting, adding that stealing macadamia nuts was now a serious criminal offence.

“We hope this will stop thieves from invading our farms as they used to do. Stealing macadamia nuts is now a serious offence and the police are now allowed by the law to seize nuts from unregistered dealers,” said Mr Nkomo.

The Chipinge Macadamia Association secretary, Mr James Maisiri, said farmers would enjoy some rich pickings from the nuts since the sector was now regulated following the gazetting of SI 138 of 2019.

“The season is just beginning and we are enjoying the fruits of the law governing the growing, marketing and processing macadamia nuts. The industry is now under control though there are still a few irregularities. We are dealing with registered buyers and all growers were registered and issued with growers’ numbers that help buyers to deal with registered farmers only.

“We interviewed buyers before the beginning of the season and then reached an agreement, after which we then recommended them to be granted clearance and certificates,” he said.

Though incidences of macadamia theft were still low, farmers have expressed fears of thieves conniving with smallholder farmers to circumvent the law.

“The major challenge we are facing is that of theft through connivance. Since all farmers are registered and have grower’s numbers, some unscrupulous thieves are now conniving with smallholder farmers.

The smallholder farmers are giving them their grower’s numbers.

“These thieves are going to the small-scale farmers with few hectares to sell stolen nuts on their behalf. So the syndicates now include other farmers, especially small-scale ones,” said Mr Maisiri.

On Sunday, the long arm of the law caught up three prominent macadamia nuts dealers in Chipinge accused of stealing nuts worth hundreds of dollars.

The trio — Wakai Sanyanga (34), of 12A, Newcastle Farm, Jongwe Kushinga (39), of 4092 Low Density and Persistence Maposa (37), of 2263, Gaza O Extension — appeared before Chipinge resident magistrate Mr Farai Gwitima facing theft charges.

They were not asked to plead.

Mr Gift Bikita told the court that on January 12, around 1pm, the three accused persons and three accomplices who are still at large, hatched a plan to steal macadamia nuts at Stilfontein Farm owned by Mr Ernest Porusingazi.

“The three accused persons . . . then packed the macadamia nuts in some sacks without authority from (Mr) Porusingazi and loaded them in a Nissan Hardbody truck that was parked about two kilometres away from the farm,” he said.

The offence was discovered by farm manager Mr Andrew Sithole, who alerted police officers at Grassflats Police Base.

“After receiving a tip-off, police officers then swiftly manned the Birchenough Bridge-Mount Selinda Road. They stopped the vehicle which was driven by Wakai Sanyanga with two occupants, Maposa and Kushinga. They conducted a search and 9x50kg of macadamia nuts with a street value of US$1 000 were recovered. Bail ruling is expected on January 20. (See Comment on Page 6)

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