Diaspora Matters

Have you ever thought about exporting the crops that you grow? Well if you are already growing Tobacco you are already an exporter as more than 95% of the Tobacco grown is exported to China, Europe and the rest of the world. In this article we shall be looking at a more sensitive and lucrative crop export production namely fresh produce export. Some of you are probably wondering what fresh produce is.Perhaps to break it down, fresh produce simply refers to the usually highly perishable vegetables such as tomatoes, peas, lettuce, cabbage, strawberries, green beans etc.

Emmanuel D.N Dube |ZBIN Agronomist

There is a very huge demand for fresh produce particularly in Europe and Zimbabwe is one of the big suppliers of fresh produce into Europe.It is no longer surprising to find fresh produce with the label produced in Zimbabwe in big supermarkets such as Tesco in the UK. The current economic situation in Zimbabwe has not helped either especially when producing for the local market as monetary value is lost quickly. Producing for export is a worthy investment as most contractors will pay the farmer in forex usually the green back (USD) of which the farmer retains approximately 80% of the money in Forex. Clearly this is big business the big question then is,“how do I get into this business as farmer?”. Well below are a few basics that you need to know before you get into the business or rather the requirements.

1. Tenure

The farmer needs to have title to the land/farm. Most contractors will need you to have an offer letter/lease agreement/tittle to the land or some form of authorisation for you to use the farm. This makes sense as no one wants to invest in growing a crop and then at harvest the land is disputed and the contractor losses out financially and reputation wise with their market as they would have failed to deliver as promised.

• Infrastructure

A reliable water source such as a Dam or boreholes. This must be a clean water source; the water samples will be tested to see if they meet the minimum EU requirements for safe use in crop production. This makes sense as these days a lot of water pollution occurs especially in gold panning areas were harmful chemicals such as cyanide are used by illegal miners and water is discarded into the water ways. If contaminated water is used such chemicals can be taken up by the plants and may affect the final consumer of the product. The most ideal type of irrigation is drip irrigation, yes you may get away with the now very popular centre pivot, but disease incidence tends to be much higher when using this type of irrigation. Also most people have the misconception that for one to do intensive horticulture you need a green house, most horticultural crops do very well in open fields especially those not susceptible to frost.

• Certifications

GGAP

This is arguably the most important requirement. When exporting into Europe the basic requirement is the Global Good Agricultural Practice certification (GGAP). Most if not all markets in the EU require every fresh produce produced outside of Europe to have the GGAP certification. What is GGAP certification? This is a certification issued out to a producer (Farm) to signify that they are producing their crop according to international standards. An audit is done by an external auditor usually from South Africa by international organisations such as SGS or NSF among other auditing companies. Auditor will come to your farm and inspect things such as safe chemical storage, health and safety issues of the farm workers etc. Because of the work involved it is always best to higher a consultant who can help you set up and prepare for the audit. You do it once and you do it correctly.

SMETA

In addition to the GGAP certification most markets now also require the producer to be SMETA certified.SMETA stands for Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit. It combines the best practices in the field of corporate social responsibility. SMETA focuseson labour conditions and occupational safety as on environmental standards and ethical business practices. This will give the farmer a competitive edge among other suppliers if they have this certification. NB these are renewed annually.

• Quality…. Quality

Quality is king, Usually I recommend farmers to grow a small hectarage and manage it well in order to produce a high-quality crop. There is no point in growing a large hectarage and produce poor quality which is not exportable or fetches poor prices on the market. Remember farming is a business.

• Consistency

This is were most farmers drop the ball. Most contractors will already have a buyer for your produce before you even put seed into the ground hence the need to be consistent in supply. Reliability is very important, in this business do what ever you can to meet contractual obligations in terms of supply.

• Diversification

A carefully planned out cropping system on your farm will guarantee a constant flow of income. One can also grow for the local market when export windows are closed. Also chose the right crop for your area.

• Labour and capital

Horticulture is labour intensive, if you do not have access to an adequate labour pool consider a small hectarage. To give you an idea when growing fine beans (green beans) you will need approximately 30 -50 people per hectare per day at peak to harvest the crop at the right exportable size. If you miss a day of peaking your crop becomes overgrown and not exportable.

• Market

Getting direct access to the market as an individual is a daunting task and most markets will only deal with suppliers, they have a history with. The best way to get around this is getting all the certifications, capital and a contracting company and grow. Contractor takes care of all the air freight, handlings delivery to market which will all be factored into the price which your product is bought from the farmer, good deal right.

It may seem like a tedious process when looking at the above list, but it is a worthy investment when done properly. The returns are very lucrative especially in this Zimbabwean economy were forex seems to retain value more. Make sure to read the next article covering the different crops that can be grown for the export market and the numbers (capital break down) that are involved as well as the different organisations involved in contract farming for export.

Emmanuel is a qualified Agronomist and development practitionerwith more than a decade’s experience working in the agri-business industry and development sector. You can contact him on edndsep@gmail.com or whatsapp on 0783495396

Crowdfarming presents Africa with a lot of opportunities in agriculture. The concept is gaining momentum across the continent especially in Nigera, South Africa and Kenya. The concept involves a lot of people pooling resources and investing in identified projects of common interest. Mot of the people(crowd) usually meet online through digital platforms and follow the following steps;

1. Formation of a company or association
2. Election of leaders or a management body
3. Identifying farming opportunities lease of agreement
4. Identifying land and obtaining
5. Carrying out detailed investment appraisals
6. Contributing funds for projects with a positive net present value
7. Project management and monitoring progress
8. Sharing of profits or losses

Investing in the first project

Members should not try and invest huge sums of money in a project they are doing for the first time because they do not have experience in running a crowdfarming project. Invest large sums, the project fails and this will be the end of it. A short project with a short life span is highly recommended. Try a project with a maximum capital injection of US$2,000 –showcase you ability to manage the project, showcase your ability manage ad get a positive return on investment. This is the litmus test and if it fails…exit the project.

Success factors

• Be wary of unnecessary personality clashes. This can be easily dealt with if there is a constitution
• Engage a consultant to draft corporate governance documents such as constitutions or company registrations.
• If more than 10, an association registration is highly recommended-it’s faster than registering a company.
• Initial funds contributions should go towards the hire of consultants who should prepare documents or registrations within a specified period. Failure to meet deadines should attract penalties or rehire of consultants.
• The longer the registration process takes, the more many will lose interest. The founders of a crowdfarming project should already have draft documents of vision and corporate governance before inviting others.
• Land tenure is tricky especially when there is no documentation. This needs to be secured as fast as possible before commencement. The location of the farm or plot should be close to where members are based.
• Who will be the project manager? Allocating roles to several members is fine but be wary of lack of progress due to no one being accountable for results. This can delay the project or lead to some using own resources. Agree on a contribution that will help motivate the project manager who will report to the management committee. If you can afford a full time manager, the better.
• In all farming ventures, engage experts especially Agronomists. Pay them for researches and advice to reduce risks.
• Communication can be a huge challenge. Reliance of online platforms can take lead to a lot of miscommunication issues. Speak less on Whatsapp groups and arrange for more face to face meetings on a scheduled basis.
• The diaspora highly recommended not to invest funds in less established crowdfarming ventures. Crowdfarming ventures with no experience are high risk-wait and see results first before pouring funds into a new project.

Members Contributions

The concept of crowdfarming is to recruit as many members as possible. Every dollar counts!

If members are leaving the project-this is contrary to the spirit of crowdfarming. Therefore identify several projects and let members choose projects of their interest. At first choose a mix of projects such as animal husbandry and crop farming . For instance broiler rearing, rabbits rearing and crops such as vegetables or maize,

Manage the different interests of members. Some can contribute US$5 per month and some US$100 per month. Identify projects where the lower end and the high end can all fit. If its cattle purchase a cow can have 10 people with each person having a different contribution.

For example 5 people can contribute $400 as follows;

1. John $100
2. Jane $50
3. Peter $30
4. Mary $120
5. Kenneth $100

Profit or losses shared as per individual contribution. This approach ensures the participation of many but is administratively more challenging.

Another option is to have each person buying a cow but the high contributions mean few people will partake in such ventures. The fewer the people, the lesser the effectiveness of crowdfarming.

History to date of crowdfarming in Zimbabwe

A maize farming project in Banket was a disaster. A lot of funds totalling US$100,000 were lost due to funds misappropriation and poor management. UK Diasporans were the biggest losers with some losing up to GBP10.000. Crowdfarming can be a cheap access to funds for fraudsters. Be wary of some who benefit by purchase of inputs and storage. Chibage chakazodyiwa nemombe! A recent case of cattle poisoning is raising question marks on possible funds misuse.

In Manicaland, another crowdfarming project resulted in heavy losses for members. Its important for members to tighten risk management. Come up with budgets in USD but contribute funds when needed, avoid large sums of money being handled by individuals. For instance, if buying fertilisers, contribute funds and purchase them on the same day. Utilise the fertiliser on the same day and avoid storage risks.

Opportunities abound in this multimillion dollar industry but the KEY WORD is transparency! Go for short term projects, give investors their returns back, let them choose to continue and gradually the project will gain prominence and many others will join.

We expect more than a thousand companies to emerge in the coming years. They will be competing to recruit members as well as to showcase who is the most profitable. Who can return the highest per dollar investment?

In Nigeria, their Reserve Bank had to intervene after a lot of financial scandals. Give us feedback on your experience with crowdfarming to date.

Local financial institutions should innovate and come up with schemes that help in crowdfarming. Enabling members to contribute funds and ensuring safe keeping. In South Africa they have facilities for Stokvel initiatives and at the end of 2019, a total of R50 Billion was held in all Stokvel accounts.

The Zim Business Ideas and Network forum has a total membership of 55,000 as of March 2020 and we have attached a document that analysis forum activity for the month of February 2020.

Our eagerly awaited business book is now available. A rich resource book for entrepreneurs in Zimbabwe, it focuses on business opportunities. Where are the opportunities in Zimbabwe as well as across the region? How do we tap into them? What are the skills required to explore them?

Africans have traditionally suffered from not writing own histories and experiences and as a result, we rely on books written elsewhere. A follow up book to our first one we published in 2018, the book covers experiences of our members, researches and tours conducted in Zimbabwe and beyond the borders. There is an addition of important forum contacts dotted across the globe.

Buyers of the book are added to our subscribed list for the year allowing them access to follow up books, resources, video profiling and access to our meetings for presentations and marketing of goods.

It costs USD15/RTGS equivalent and is available at Rokpa Centre, No 34 Quendon Road, Monavale Harare. Contact number +263 773 055 063 or app number +263 774 081808.

Who ever imagined the impact of the Covid-19? That many borders would be closed? How about the crash in world markets? We are talking of trillions of dollars lost due to this epidemic…it will take decades to recover.

To my risk management colleagues, did you see this coming? In your strategic documents, risk registers, did you cover this?

To accountants, when you were coming up with budgets, did you factor in the corona virus impact? Was your scenario analysis perfect?

Actuarial scientists, did your risk modelling factor in possible epidemics that can shut down world markets?

To students of accounting at college, did lecturers cover this? Is it in the syllabus?

I like the World Economic Forum and they captured the top 20 risks in the world. Someone was paid hefty amounts for compiling the list. We are talking of the top risk managers in the world from the best universities. How come they left out the corona virus?

Where is the problem with risk management?

Its mostly a closed profession made up of finance folks…

The finance folks have little knowledge of other sectors such as health, how disease outbreaks can negatively impact social and economic spheres.

Who has been following the locusts doing marathon runs from East Africa towards the Southern Region? Is the profession trekking this? What is the possible financial impact?

In hindsight, perhaps when the virus hit Italy, this was a big red flag but then this was a virus, they spread with lightning speed…

Perhaps it’s a new era of globalisation, we are experiencing an epidemic in a globalised world…we are learning in the process!

Question now is, how reliable is risk management in a globalised world? Unfortunately old practices, knowledge and skills becoming redundant.

A risk management professional now needs to have balanced skills…finance is no longer enough.

You have to read medical journals, engineering too, follow environmental issues and more. Trek problems building up in Paraguay or Taiwan and possible viral impact across the globe.

I cannot even locate the Wuhan Province, had never heard about it but what happened thousands of kilometres away now has a direct impact on us.

In Zimbabwe we need health professionals to work together with risk management professionals-we can no longer rely on one profession for risk mitigation and control. Sadly the culture in Zim is each profession works alone.

The concern is after the corona virus, what next? Is the disease man made? If yes, what stops the manufacturers from celebrating and introducing another deadly one? Do we know enough about this disease?

The year 2020 has started on a positive note for entrepreneurs in Zimbabwe. Our forum is coordinating monthly events where members network, get inspired from business presentations and also get an opportunity to sell their products and services.

We have been encouraging the spirit of supporting our own members and the response to date shows massive responses in support. Call it the awakening of entrepreneurs, if we dont support our own, then noone is going to come from outer space to support us.

We held a highly successful meeting on the 1st of February in Chitungwiza and a record number of members attended.

Another meeting on the 7th of March had a similar attendance. Mobilising 50 members from an online forum is a tall order. Getting 100 a steep mountain climb. When you get more than 200 then you have reached 5 star level.

We had members coming from as far as Bulawayo, Zvishavane, Mhangura, Bindura and Macheke. Our South Africa forum did not disappoint either with a good number attending a meeting at Zoo Lake in Johannesburg.

The good news is that next month, we will form a Business Forum for Women and it promises to be one of the biggest in the capital. Already more than 100 sisters have signed up and numbersmay even surpass 300 in the coming weeks.

They are going to choose their leadership, create a constitution and a strategic document for their operations.

When women work in harmony with a focus on business, the results are always outstanding. So far so good from the initial response and you can follow our Facebook pages for various group links for the forum.

After the launch of our successful Business Opportunities for Zimbabweans book in 2018, we return on the 7th of March 2020 at Capital Gardens with another book covering opportunities but with more depth on researches and analysis.

Our book covers opportunities in Agriculture, Small Businesses, Youths, Women, Digital Marketing and Risk Management. The book has 10 chapters and includes hundreds of voices from our forum of 53.000 members.

A few of the opportunities are covered on this website but the bulk come from our researches, tours, discussions and reviews.

The book is for youths at colleges who rarely cover entrepreneurship especially opportunities-how to identify opportunities, how to harness resources for opportunities and trending developments in the field of 4IR.

We bring once more a chapter on Digital Marketing adding nuggets of wisdom to the area with practical examples of our work in the field.

Without balance, the world is in peril and for most articles we captured, there is feedback from the forum. Some supporting and some providing alternative views. This ensures balance throughout the book.

The bonus is on crucial forum contacts dotted around the region making sure that Zimbabwean entrepreneurs have trusted contacts across the region.

Those who purchase our book automatically gain access to forum benefits for the year such as showcasing businesses at our events, video profiling, access to tours, crowdfunding initiatives and more.

The book is initially available in print copy. We apologise to our diasporan based followers. We took the decision after hundreds of thousands of our first book leaked on social media platforms in 2018.

The estimated cost of the book is USD10 or equivalent in local currency.

The story of African Entrepreneurship can only be told by Africans themselves and we believe we did a superb job in capturing this.

Our Whatsapp Contact Number is +263 774 081 808

There is a wave sweeping across the continent-many people are interested in entrepreneurship. Those employed are not getting enough income, those unemployed are seeking ways of earning an income. The young and old are all interested in venturing into business.

Our forum kick started the concept of monthly meetings every first Saturday of a month and we got encouraging results. An estimated 160 entrepreneurs thronged Leisure Centre in Chitungwiza on the 1st of February. Another meeting in Johannesburg attracted 15 entrepreneurs and this is a great start to 2020.

Why did our members attend the Harare meeting?

Networking platform

Marketing platform for products and services

Raising funding for startups through partnerships and crowdfunding

Being inspired by successful entrepreneurs who had presentations.

Presentations carried out:

Hybrid Paw Paw growing by Garande

Bus Transport Opportunities by Eng Brian Makoyi

Crowdfarming opportunities by Mupamombe

Business oportunities in Beira by Kunsamala

Real estate trends and opportunities by Tatenda

A lot of support for members especially those who brought products for sale. The spirit within the forum to support others is fast rising.

On March 7, 2020, more meetings lined up for

Harare

Bulawayo

Joburg

Capetown and

Gaborone

Bring drinks for bring and share, come prepared to learn and inspire the next person. Its high time Zimbabweans from all walks of life follow in the footsteps of successful entrepreneurship communities such as Indians, Pakistanis, Congolese, Somalis and Nigerians.

When it comes to excelling in education, Zimbabwe ranks amongst the best on the continent. Zimbabwe is rich in human capital but there is one area lacking-entrepreneurship on foreign land!

There are no notable companies formed by Zimbabweans in foreign land-a look at South Africa shows little Zimbabwean influence on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. This is despite the fact that most companies have Zimbabweans driving them at the top.

Our forum would like to challenge Zimbabweans to excel in the next phase-Entrepreneurship!

The time is now to leave a legacy-join hands with like- minded patriots and brainstorm on setting up business ventures. Doing it on your own or harnessing resources with others.

In Harare we have 250 members attending a business meeting at Leisure Centre on the 1^st of February and in Joburg we have a meeting running concurrently with the Zimbabwean one.

About 30 people have signed up for the South African meeting and we believe this is a great start. The meetings will be a monthly event covering many topics and discussions. They will start in Joburg before cascading to the rest of the Rainbow Nation.

A great platform for markets of goods and services, great platform for linking up Zimbabweans in business and creating opportunities for themselves. The Stokvel total value has been put at R50 Billion showing growing interest in harnessing resources for business interests. How about Zimbabweans?

Of course there are issues to do with trust and selfishness but with proper risk management practices, our community can grow and be an active economic player in South Africa, neighbouring SADC countries and Zimbabwe.

All that is needed are a few honest, dedicated and visionary individuals to come together-put their heads on the table and chart an economic course for themselves.

For how long should we continue to be known as people who do not work together? For how long should we be known as the most selfish people on the continent? Hire a Zimbabwean in foreign land? It often results in disaster with a lot of backbiting.

Lets challenge the stereotype Zimbabweans and form a vibrant community with a strong vision to uplift the lives of members and the nation at large.

For addition to the forum, send an app to +27604601692 or +263774081808

Our forum ended the year with a membership of 50, 000 entrepreneurs in Zimbabwe and 74,000 entrepreneurs in South Africa. What a successful year that saw us conducting several meetings, trainings and tours to neighbouring countries.

The icing on the cake was the formation of a Crowdfarming Company called Agri-Volution which is one of the best in the country with access to 40 hectares of farming land and members pooling resources together for farming projects.

Looking forward to the rest of the year, we hope to assist our members with crowdfunding initiatives that enable them to find like minded forum members and forming companies. We did set the ball rolling with our Agri-volution company made up of locals and diasporans.

Our meetings have been well attended and we are upscaling them by holding them on a monthly basis. A great networking event that brings our members from different sectors to inspire others. We have more than 30 Whatsapp groups covering Mining, Agriculture, Poultry, Piggery, Real Estate, Mozambique Opportunities, Malawi Opportunities, Financial Literacy, Digital Marketing, Stock Exchange Investment, Tapestry and more.

Bringing all of the various members under one roof helps to unlock value through networking. Our end of year party attracted more members including some from as far as Bulawayo and diasporans based in Namibia and Mozambique.

You want to get contacts in Mozambique? Experiences in South Africa? Rising entrepreneurs in chemical manufacturing? Successful boer goat farmers? Our forum brings them all together and we share business ideas and business tips.

Our next meeting will be held on the 1^st February at Leisure Centre in Chitungwiza. This is an open door entertainment place which has become a favourite for the forum.

Requirements

Bring 4 drinks, 3 for you and the remainder to give to a forum member of choice. This is how we promote the spirit of entrepreneurship within the forum. Entrance fee paid to the venue owners is US$1 or RTGS equivalent.

Our Agenda includes

• Update on crowdfarming and lessons learnt
• Formation of a crowdfarming company that invests on the stock exchange
• Business Opportunities in Mozambique and crowdfunding avenues-Fadzi
• Business Opportunities in detergents manufacturing presentation by a successful entrepreneur-Nzira
• Business and Law presentation by the forum lawyer-Namatirai
• Digital marketing and E-commerce –Tehila
• Hybrid Paw Paw Opportunities –Garande

Time

2:00pm-5:00pm

We are expecting more than a hundred entrepreneurs to attend. The forum has a culture of selflessly sharing business information on opportunities. We are fortunate to have plenty of successful entrepreneurs with inspiring stories.

So make a date with us, we return once more to Chitungwiza at a relaxed venue-drink, network and share your business story. Identify potential partners and go back having solved access to funding hurdles.