ZIMBABWE now boasts the latest stockfeed technology in Africa, imported from Turkey, that can produce up to 240 tonnes per day being operated from home by a single person.
In line with the Second Republic’s mantra, “nyika inovakwa nevene vayo,” a local firm, Davipel Group of Companies, an indigenous agro-processing company in Harare’s Sunway City Industrial Park, is constructing a stockfeed plant to be operational by April next year.
Special Advisor to the President on Monitoring and Implementation of Government Programmes and Projects, Dr Jorum Gumbo and Harare Metropolitan Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Charles Tavengwa toured the Davipel Stockfeed Plant installation on Wednesday.
Speaking after the tour, Davipel chief executive officer Davison Norupiri said they have targeted to open during the first quarter of next year.
“The capacity of the plant is 10 to 12 tonnes an hour and we are actually anticipating to start running in April next year because at the moment we are still building outer buildings.
“Starting during the harvest time means we will be in a position to get raw materials which are cheaper as we know that when people are harvesting the prices of commodities go down.”
Mr Norupiri said they were proud of their plant.
“As far as the technology on stockfeed manufacturing goes, this is the best technology so far in Africa followed by a plant in Sudan and then the rest follow.
“This technology is from Turkey and is the latest technology at the moment and I am happy to say that even during installation we were actually transferring technology from Turkey into our country,” he said.
Mr Norupiri said they are also looking at the issue of the Special Economic Zones which have been set up by the Government and had responded positively to that.
“As it is, we are the first stockfeed manufacturing company to occupy that space. That will help us as a company. It will also help the nation of Zimbabwe in terms of employment creation.
“We are trying to address some gaps. We are responding to the Government’s call on the issue of industrialisation, import substitution as well as exports,” he said.
Dr Gumbo was pleased that Davipel is the first indigenous company to venture into this sector.
“Indeed. Davipel has responded positively to the President’s pronouncement that nyika inovakwa nevene vayo. It is therefore not by coincidence that the project was prioritised for implementation under the rapid results programme.
“I am pleased to report that the adoption of the 100-Day Cycle Programme has yielded positive results by ensuring the timeous completion of projects as we strive to achieve upper middle-income status by 2030,” he said.
Dr Gumbo said the company had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Harare Institute of Technology to facilitate knowledge transfer to the students on the use of the new technology.
“The investment by Davipel is also in sync with the Government’s call for value addition and beneficiation of produce from the agricultural sector. Indeed, the Government is prioritising the development and strengthening of already existing value chains because of the realisation that there is underused capacity in the agro-processing value chain,” he said.
Developments witnessed during the tour were a clear justification of why the Government has declared Sunway City, a special economic zone.
“Indeed, in a short period of time, Davipel Holdings has become one of the country’s leading agro-processing companies. The investment is a demonstration of the confidence that our indigenous companies have in investing in the country because of the good investment climate,” said Dr Gumbo.
Upon completion, the company will employ 450 people and the surrounding communities will benefit from the employment opportunities. The completion of the plant will also lead to the opening of shops across the country while a portion of the output will be exported to countries in the region.
“Production at the company is therefore expected to reduce imports of stock feeds while promoting exports to the international market,” Dr Gumbo said.
He also commended the firm for its plans to empower civil servants by supplying chicks and feedstock with payment done after production.
Harare Metropolitan Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Charles Tavengwa said the new plant was clearly in line with President Mnangagwa’s assertion countless times that Zimbabwe is an agro-based nation.
“We talk of employment. In terms of the GDP as Harare, we will benefit from that.
“The main issue the President says ‘Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo”, who is vene vayo? A local Zimbabwean investing in such a big facility here, the equipment, investment in his own country for his own people, we applaud that. It is very welcome.”
Herald
