Mutoko — Biodiesel production is set to rise to 75 000 litres from 3 000 litres per day following the upgrading of an engineering firm's processing plant, giving impetus to the Second Republic's rural industrialisation and modernisation drive.
Located on the north-western fringes of Mutoko Centre, Finealt Engineering is a State-aided agency under the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development.
The firm has been producing 3 000 litres of diesel daily from jatropha seeds.
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However, after the upgrade, the plant will produce more than 75 000 litres per day, demonstrating the Second Republic's commitment to rural industrialisation and the power of education and training under the Heritage-based 5.0 model.
Biodiesel is used as a sustainable replacement for petroleum diesel in various applications, including powering vehicles like cars, trucks and buses, as well as heavy-duty equipment for construction, agriculture, mining and marine vessels.
The completion of the plant spawns industrialisation and modernisation to the rural area, creating jobs as well as providing a secure market for local farmers on their doorstep.
Additionally, biodiesel functions as a powerful and non-toxic solvent for cleaning greasy engines and tools and can even be used as a lubricant additive to reduce friction in diesel engines.
The successful production of biodiesel in Zimbabwe means the country can significantly reduce refined liquid fuel imports.
In an interview, Finealt Engineering acting chief executive officer Mr Patrick Mpala said all the equipment for the massive production of biodiesel has been installed and ready for production.
"The equipment is there, installed and ready to go. What is now left is for the Zesa to upgrade the electricity supply system, so that it can power our upgraded system. Once that is done, production begins," said Mr Mpala.
"We will continue to use jatropha seed for biodiesel production. We buy it from locals. However, plans are at an advanced stage for us to grow jatropha in Mudzi at a 3 000 ha piece of land. The land can also be expanded to 6000 ha. We are set to produce it for ourselves. However, we will still continue to buy from our local farmers. As an organisation, we are ready to drive rural industrialisation as expounded by President Mnangagwa. We are already making it a reality."
Besides production of biodiesel, there is also significant production of bio-economy products like cooking oil, soaps and detergents at the site.
"Initially, we were producing only biodiesel here. Come the New Dispensation, we then expanded and started the manufacturing of bio-economy products. So we started cooking oil manufacturing. We realised that a lot of farmers, particularly in the Makaha area, in Mudzi district, were into sunflower production. So we bought sunflower seed from them for processing into cooking oil," he said.
"We are also contracting farmers for sunflower production and the programme is bearing fruits. As we speak, we process about 20 tonnes of sunflower seed and produce more than 5 000 litres of cooking oil per day and we want to increase production. I am pleased to say our cooking oil is already available on the market. We supply it to shops in Mutoko, Marondera and Bindura."
Mr Mpala said they also upgraded the soap manufacturing plant to maximise production and meet local market demand.
"About three days ago, we completed installation of a soap making plant which has a capacity of producing about 500 one-kilogram bars of soap per hour. The machine is also capable of producing about 2 000 soap tablets per hour. We also make detergents like toilet cleaners, car cleaners and dish wash liquid. We are encouraged by the overwhelming support from the consumers, especially the people of Mutoko. They are supportive and we are aiming to penetrate all the markets across the country," he said.
Besides the Mutoko plant, they are also setting another plant in Chirumhanzu district in the Midlands province where cooking oil and stock feed will be produced in large quantities.
"We will continue to spread our wings as we bring industries to rural areas. At the Mutoko site we employed 69 local people. The beauty of this industry is that it creates employment and we give first preference to locals. As we speak, we are setting up another industry in Chirumhanzu. We are leaving no one and no place when it comes to rural industrialisation. We are also engaging a lot of farmers for the production of jatropha, sunflower as well groundnuts for the production of biodiesel, cooking oil and other products," he said.
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Mr Mpala said they also planned to construct a solar plant near the site in case of power outages.
To address water challenges, Mr Mpala said the organisation drilled about four solar powered boreholes.
He said the boreholes also serve local communities.
Biodiesel was first mooted in the early 2000s as a significant industry for Zimbabwe using jatropha seed. Finealt Engineering embraced the concept before constructing a plant in Mutoko.
Since coming into power, President Mnangagwa focused on using home gown solutions to solve most of the country's challenges.
This has resulted in the reduction of imports, especially of basics like cooking oil, mealie meal, sugar, soaps, drinks, among other products.
