Last week I wrote an article on making farming make sense and I am happy to say that I have been receiving a lot of inquiries and referring farmers to professionals who can assist them. The current unstable economy in Zimbabwe has left most farmersthinking of venturing into fresh produce export which is a multi-million-dollar industry. According to Zimtrade Zimbabwe exports to several countries in Europe earning the much-needed foreign currency. It is quite sad to note that “Magweja”,as they are notoriously known in the tobacco industry,or fraudsters have invaded this sector as well. I met one farmer just last week who will call Mr Grant (pseudo name)who was fleeced of close to 15 000 USD by these middlemen in a bid to acquire “paperwork”, to export to Europe. It was such an elaborate scheme even the most alert individual could have been easily be hoodwinked.
Firstly, lets cover the basics, for one to be able to export fresh produce from Zimbabwe, one needs to have Global GAP certification as a minimum requirement. This certification ensures that the farmer adheres to global standards and practices whilst producing the crop. Other markets may require extra certifications as well which I will not get into detail on at the moment.Back to Mr Grant, this guy owns a vibrant farm just a few kilometres out of Harare with all the basic infrastructure required for farming operations. He was approached by an individual name supplied, who offered his services to assist him to be able to export. Initially he was asked to pay 2 000 USD to get negotiations started and then another 4 000 USD to pay for export licences, 7 000 USD for the Global GAP certification. These guys even had all the supporting documents as proof of payments which were all fake by the way. As usual the relationship eventually ended in the “agent”, being unreachable and just vanished into thin air. The truth is, it will cost approximately R17 000 to get a Global GAP Audit done depending on the company, this includes air fare, hotel etc for the auditor from South Africa. This translates to about +/- 1 400 USD which is a far cry from what Mr Grant paid.
It was after hearing this harrowing story that I decided to raise awareness on this subject. The major obstacle for most farmers is the lack of information or rather where to get information. I would strongly suggest contacting ZIMTRADE located in Harare they will gladly furnish you with the appropriate information and refer accordingly. One can simply ask old faithful google for directions and contact details online or simply visit their website it has a great deal of information.Also, before engaging a consultant always request for references before engaging him or her, a little background check will help as you are bound to come across a lot of bogus individuals looking to swindle you off your hard-earnedmoney.
- Emmanuel is a qualified Agronomist with more than a decade’s experience working in the agricultural industry and development sector. You can contact him on edndsep@gmail.com
Article by
E. D.N Dube
ZIBN Agronomy correspondent
