Zimplow scales up agric mechanisation for smallholder farmers

PHILLIMON MHLANGA

Zimplow Holdings, a farming implements and earth moving equipment supplier, listed on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange, is scaling up its mechanisation drive by providing smallholder farmers with an array of reliable and affordable variety of equipment through its Mealie Brand subsidiary, Business Times can report.

 

Agricultural innovations, centre on mechanisation solutions for smallholder farms, ranging from soil breaking, planting, crop management, harvesting, post-harvesting, and transportation.

Speaking to Business Times on the sidelines of the company’s annual general meeting held in the capital Harare on Thursday, Zimplow acting CEO, Willem Swan said with the aid of its mechanisation initiative it will help smallholder farmers reduce production costs and make the transition from subsistence to commercial  farming.

 

“With these drought conditions, cattle numbers are down, and some smallholder farmers are not able to use cattle. For this reason, we brought in tractors through our mechanisation initiative at a really good price,” Zimplow acting CEO, Willem Swan told Business Times.

He added: “We also made the decision to expand the mechanisation initiative’s scope to go beyond the tractors we have provided so far. It’s very efficient and simple.

“With this, people are doing between 5 hectares (ha) to 8ha sized properties. It’s very effective.

“It cuts down the cost in terms of labour and obviously, with the shortage of cattle, it gives them (smallholder farmers) flexibility.

The feedback that we have received from the farmers is that these (equipment) have been very positive.”

The cost-effective and robust mechanization product range includes the traditional ox-drawn ploughs, cultivators, harrows, planters, ridgers, ground nut shellers and garden tools like hoes and rakes.

 

The range has over time grown to include two-wheel tractors as well as accessories such as planters, boom sprayers, trailers, threshers, choppers and hammer mills.

 

Mealie Brand takes pride in providing innovative sustainable agricultural solutions such as boom sprayers, direct seeders, and ox drawn rippers in response to the effects of climate change.

Mealie Brand takes pride in providing tobacco farmers with the relevant equipment to optimize their production and enhance the efficiency and profitability of their golden crop farming.

 

Technologies like the plough and the ridger have made the farming experience of the small-scale tobacco farmer bearable.

 

Mealie Brand’s smallholder farm mechanisation product range has been tried and tested and is tailored to suit every farmer’s needs and the rugged regional soils of Sub-Saharan Africa.

In its trading update for the first five months of this year,  both Mealie Brand and Farmec reported low volume trade , largely due to the negative impacts of the El Niño-induced drought that affected Zimbabwe and the Southern Africa region.
Nonetheless, Valmec reported a 250% rise in tractor sales during the reviewed period, more than offset the volume declines at Mealie Brand and Farmec.
Implement sales grew dramatically over the reviewed period as well.

Despite a 20%  decline in sales during the period, management is optimistic about the excellent performance of the second half due to the anticipated stability of the country’s economy.

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