Shake-up at Seed Co

BUSINESS REPORTER

Zimbabwe’s largest seed producer, Seed Co, has appointed Pearson Gowero, the former CEO of the country’s largest brewer, Delta Corporation,  to the position of  board chairman, replacing  David Long, as part of a corporate restructuring.

The shake-up also saw the departure of Patrick Spadin.  His tenure as a director officially ended on September 8, 2023.

Maxen Karombo, CEO of OK Zimbabwe, the biggest retailer in Zimbabwe, has also been appointed  to the board. The CFO of the Limagrain Group, Anthony Carvalho, and the CEO of Alpha Media Holding Group, Kenias Mafukidze, were also appointed as Seed Co  directors.

“(Pearson) Gowero was elected and duly appointed independent non-executive board chairman effective 28 September 2023. The Board extends its congratulations to Mr. Gowero on his new appointment and wishes him success in his new position,” Seed Co Group Company Secretary Tineyi Chatiza said.

The restructuring comes at a time when Seed Co faces viability issues as a result of the government’s tardy payment of seed purchased on credit from the seed producer and intended for the Presidential Input Scheme, also known as Pfumvudza.

The government, which primarily purchases Seed Co’s seed on credit, now provides free inputs to the communal farmers directly, which restricts the seed producer’s ability to sell directly to the farmers.

According to Morgan Nzwere, CEO of Seed Co Group, the Pfumvudza program distributes seeds to communal farmers for free, who account for the majority of seed buyers in the country.

According to Nzwere, Seed Co. would experience a much larger increase in direct sales from communal farmers, which is what it used to be since a lot of seed used to go directly to farmers, if the government’s free seed policy is discontinued.

Nzwere said that Seed Co preferred doing business directly with the market rather than the current system, which prevents the company from having direct access to  the farmer.

In a statement accompanying financial results for the 12 months to March 31 2023, Seed Co company secretary Chatiza  weighed in saying:“The appetite to borrow was worsened by delayed payments from  the government schemes and a sharp increase in prices for both operating expenses and seed deliveries.”

He added: “The increase in receivables at the year end date was attributable to the growing sales and the outstanding debt from growers and government programmes.”