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.
- 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
I thought this article was going to give a list of contractors and or the countries to be supplied the fresh produce that are best for each area.
It is always best to give links of existing farmers who are exporters so that it is helpful to the would be exporters. That will be helpful.