Chimanimani farmers decry poor road infrastructure
SYDNEY SAIZE RECENTLY IN CHIMANIMANI
Fruit and fresh vegetable farmers in Chimanimani district, Manicaland Province, say the poor state of roads in the area that is making transportation of their produce to markets difficult.
The growing concern comes after most roads in the district were severely affected by the Cyclone Idai that hit the area in 2019 and are still in bad shape, making it hardly accessible to transporters, public transport services and ordinary motorists.
Banana farmer Tatenda Mwanema said most of his bananas were rotting after harvest as there were no takers owing to the poor roads in the area.
“On the issue of transport I can say most fruits get bad on the road particularly during the rainy season as our roads are in a bad state for example from Kopa area to Vhimba. That part of the road will always be wet and water overflows and makes it difficult for transporters to pass through. It is my wish if authorities address that,” Mwanema said.
The farmer said as a result the few buyers that brave the bad roads dictate the price of their produce, thereby prejudicing them.
Another Chimanimani banana farmer Norbert Magebede said the prices were bound to fall with the few buyers at hand and the bumper supply of the produce.
“We notice this trend is heavily impacting our incomes since we will be having lots of fruits and few customers, hence we are forced to reduce prices.
“Our hands would be tied and cannot afford to let the produce rot in the fields and we end up selling our fruits for a song,” Magebede said.
Success Paradzai, a village headman and farmer said the poor roads in the district have driven the abundantly rich region into a sad story where people with means struggle to put food on the table.
“This part of the district is blessed with rich soils, abundant water that flows all year round making it possible for communities to engage in vegetable and fruit production at any given time, but we are being let down by the bad roads that make it hard for the farmers to sell what they have profitable and improve their livelihoods,” Paradzai said.
But, Chimanimani East legislator, Joshua Sacco said work was in progress to rehabilitate the roads.
“Construction of the roads is going on and the contractor is on the ground as we speak and they are covering ground, that I can assure you,” Sacco said.
He said the government and its partners were seized with the matter to ensure the area affected by the devastating effects of Cyclone Idai have the destroyed infrastructure rehabilitated.
According to the Zimbabwe Idai Recovery Project (ZIRP), Cyclone Idai that struck Zimbabwe in March 2019 left a trail of destruction estimated at US$548.62m. Over 50 000 households were destroyed, directly affecting 270 000 people, including 60 000 who were forced out of their homesteads and farmlands.
Initial damage assessments concluded that US$557.76m was needed to support Zimbabwe’s recovery and restore damaged infrastructure and livelihoods.
The ZIRP is a four year response to the devastation left by Cyclone Idai, specifically to support livelihood recovery in the worst affected areas.
The World Bank has provided US$72m in grant funding to the ZIRP to reach the most affected communities across the country’s nine districts that are Bikita, Buhera, Chimanimani, Chipinge, Chikomba, Gutu, Mutasa, Mutare Urban, as well as locations with internally displaced populations and refugees.
The funds are disbursed through the United Nations Office for Project Services for rebuilding community infrastructure and restoring livelihoods through cash transfers, restoring agricultural crops and livestock productions, and revitalising basic healthcare services.
Chimanimani district is renowned for producing fruits such as Avocados, apples, bananas, macadamia nuts, citrus fruits, mangoes among a wide range of others including most vegetables.
