Edgar Vhera — The Horticultural Development Council (HDC) has announced the introduction of initiatives to transform smallholder horticulture farming in line with Government's Rural Development 8.0 programme,.
HDC made its intentions known at the recent Zimbabwe Newspapers Limited (1980) organised smallholder horticulture conference in Mutoko where it hinted at introducing its 'hub and spoke' model of horticulture farming, which provides producers with inputs, agronomic support and markets.
HDC business development advisor Mr Michael Enrich said his organisation was spreading rural development through the hub and spoke model, which naturally feeds into the Rural Development 8,0 that seeks to improve livelihoods of rural communities.
It is a collective of outcome-based interventions of the following Presidential Schemes - the Climate-Proofed Input, Cotton, Rural Development, Blitz Tick Grease, Community Fisheries, Poultry and Goat in addition to the Vision 2030 Accelerator Model.
"The hub and spoke model promotes rural village and ward industrialisation, leading to vibrant rural economies through the setting up of micro, small and medium enterprises (SMMEs) that will play a key role in service provision, planting, harvesting and logistics, among others.
"It will also provide local economic support through vocational training in specific skills such as welding, building, sign writing, fencing, solar system installation and irrigation development," said Mr Enrich.
The outcomes of the interventions resonate with the President's philosophy, that agricultural development will cause rural industrialisation. Rural industrialisation will cause rural development. And in turn, rural development will catalyse economic development for the attainment of Vision 2030. All efforts accelerate development that leaves no household and no village behind.
Mr Enrich said for effective development, expansion, modernisation, adaptation to markets and greening, among others, farming required farmers to have ready access to affordable funding at reasonable footings for instance, long term.
"Currently, funds are not accessible and affordable to most farmers, hindering growth of the sector, as credit access is based on (brick and mortar) collateral, which most farmers do not have. There is need for viable credit funding for the majority of farmers," he added.
HDC is advocating a funding model where farmers need to be able to access loans based on technical criteria, abilities and track records.
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"HDC is promoting a horticulture fund managed by the sector with disbursement and utilisation of funds safeguarded through capacity and experience-based selection (including production records, business cases, track record and confirmed markets).
"The created fund must make finances available to those farmers who have potential and impactful projects for technical support and monitoring," explained Mr Enrich.
Additionally, Mr Enrich explained that the hub and spoke model symbolised the collection point with market links. The hub is buying/aggregation point for producers (out-growers) who deliver a pre-arranged defined produce, for aggregation, processing, storage and marketing.
The spokes are the actions that link the farmers (wheel) to the hub through the payment of money to farmers for the product they would have delivered to the hub.
Other activities in the spokes are the provision of extension and financial services, capacity building, compliance, sustainability and technology. The complete, functioning wheel integrates the hub, spokes and farmers.
"The hub and spoke model has many benefits, for example, a stable, sustained link for producers to markets as well as access to technology, finance, marketing platforms and knowledge while lowering transactional costs. To the buyer, it gives a secure supply at agreed conditions and reduces risk," said Mr Enrich.
To promote the hub and spoke model, the HDC is mapping existing and potential inclusive models, identifying existing hubs and potential smallholder links, modifying the models for each subsector, as well as linking green investments, among others.
