Due to its vast experience in value chain analysis, Jimat Development Consults was contracted by the Horticulture Development Council (HDC) from February 2024 to March 2024 to carry out a baseline survey for the Citrus value chain. The Horticultural Development Council (HDC) is an APEX organization of horticultural producers and exporters whose mandate is to represent its members and promote the export of horticultural products from Zimbabwe. Together with industry stakeholders and the Government of Zimbabwe, HDC coordinates the implementation of the Horticulture Recovery and Growth Plan (HRGP) 2020 – 2025. The HRGP has two major areas of focus
(a) Private Sector-driven recovery of the conventional horticulture sub-sector; coordinated by the HDC and
(b) A robust, inclusive, sustainable, and transformative rural (smallholder) horticulture subsector, anchored on the Presidential Horticulture Scheme.
In this regard HDC engaged Jimat Development to carry out baseline survey to generate baseline data on social, economic, environmental, and social inclusivity parameters for existing and planned Hub and Spoke Model (HSM) contract farming or out-grower systems for the Citrus produce value-chains, and from consultations with all stakeholders in the value-chains ( central estates (buyers), out growers, intermediaries such as service providers), suggest best practices and models for these HS arrangements. Jimat collected qualitative and quantitative data from citrus value chain actors from the following districts which are Mazoe, Chegutu, Zvimba, Chiredzi and Beitbridge.
The objectives of the study were :
- Map out existing inclusive (hub & spoke) models for the citrus value chain.
- Confirm numbers of out-growers and production status and context in the citrus value chain
- Identify best practices suitable for the citrus value chain.
- Identify levels of environmental vulnerability and coping mechanisms of productive farmers.
- Understand limitations and potentials for successful production and coping mechanisms.
- Assess the appetite and possibility of developing a carbon asset by HDC members by assessing how much farmers know about green funding and what they are doing to encourage green agriculture.
A eleven member team visited the hubs in the four districts and met with the key players in the citrus value chain to understand the situatuion obtaining. This was an an insightful project which offered evidence based recommendations on the way forward to revive the citrus industry to reclaim its position in the citrus sector. To this end, Jimat will continue to offer its speacialised services in agriculture and other thematic areas in Zimbabwe and the regon.
Picture showing field team .in Beitbridge with the smallholder farmers
