The ManicaPost
Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
MUTARE Teachers’ College juice manufacturing plant — an investment that dovetails with Government’s Education 5.0 Policy– is now 95 percent complete and is expected to be operational by May 1, Post Business has learnt.
The college, which has been championing several income generating projects that include piggery, fishery, garment making and poultry among others, is set to become the first teacher training institution to establish a business initiative of such a magnitude.
The juice manufacturing plant was imported from China at a cost of US$126 000 and is already onsite awaiting installation anytime soon.
In an interview last week, Mutare Teachers’ College principal, Mr Abison Mutubukisaid the initiative started in April 2019 and gained traction after the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) exhibition that year.
“This is the first of its kind among teacher training institutions. We are geared to produce the best quality fruit juices at affordable prices and supply the whole country.
“From a policy point of view, this is in tandem with Government’s Education 5.0Policy,whereby we are moving from producing graduates who just wait to be employed by someone else.
“By May 1, this plant should be operational. The machinery is now here with all its components and the construction of the building which will house the plant is now at an advanced stage. The machinery arrived in September last year.
“We are grateful to the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development for availing funding for the project. In fact, it is a priority project for the ministry and we are sincerely grateful for that,” said Mr Mutubuki.
Apart from the baobab juice whichis the main product under the project, the hybrid plant is also expected to process other fruit juices that include loquat (mazhanje), mango and pineapple, as well as mineral water.
The 2 000-litre per hour production plant has a cooling section.
The automated filling and capping machine operates without human interference and also has a cap sorter, buffer tanks, water storage tanks and purifying components, among other things.
Mr Njabuliso Ncube, a lecturer at the collegein the Food Science Department, said once operational, the college will be churning out large volumes of juice.
“We intend to tap into the availability of different fruits in Manicaland and add value to them,” he said.
