Research Report April 2002 DFID-RNRRS-CPHP Project R7485 _________________________________________________________________ Facilitating the effective production and marketing of processed food products by small-scale producers in Zimbabwe (Project R7485) Output 4.1: Report on Producer/Processor Case Studies _________________________________________________________ Collaborative Study: Department of Agricultural and Food Economics, The University of Reading, UK Development Technology Centre, Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, The University of Zimbabwe, Harare Centre for Food Economics Research, Development Technology Centre/ Dept. of Agricultural and Food Economics, Dept. of Agricultural Economics and Extension The University of Reading, The University of Zimbabwe, 4 Earley Gate, Whiteknights Road, P.O. Box 167, PO Box 237, Mount Pleasant, Reading RG6 6AR, Harare, UK Zimbabwe Research Report DFID-RNRRS-CPHP Project R7485 _________________________________________________________________ Facilitating the effective production and marketing of processed food products by small-scale producers in Zimbabwe (Project R7485) Output 4.1: Report on Producer/Processor Case Studies Hanyani-Mlambo, B.,1 Mhazo, N.,2 Proctor, S.3 and Henson, S.4 _________________________________________________________ 1 Lecturer, Dept of Agricultural Economics and Extension, The University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe. Email: [email protected] 2 Lecturer, Development Technology Centre, The University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe. Email: [email protected] 3 Research Assistant, Department of Agricultural and Food Economics, The University of Reading, UK. Email: [email protected] 4 Associate Professor, Dept. of Agricultural Economics and Business and Dept. of Consumer Studies, University of Guelph, Canada. ii CONTENTS List of tables vi List of figures vii List of Appendices vii 1. Introduction 1 1.1 Background 1 1.2 Focus of the case study research 3 1.3 Objectives of the case study research 3 1.4 Methodology 4 1.5 Organisation of the report 5 2. Geophysical location of the case study enterprises 6 2.1 Introduction 6 2.2 Mashonaland East Province 7 2.3 Manicaland Province 8 3. Characteristics of the case study enterprises 11 3.1 Nature of the enterprises 11 3.2 Characteristics of entrepreneurs and employees 12 3.3 Experience in processing horticultural crops 13 3.4 Reasons for getting involved in processing activities 16 3.4.1 Jam processing 16 3.4.2 Fruit and vegetable drying 17 3.5 Training received in processing techniques 17 3.6 Outside support: Governmental and non-governmental 20 3.6.1 Objective of external support programmes 20 4. Processing techniques, technology and end products 22 4.1 Product range 22 4.1.1 Jam products 22 4.1.2 Dried fruit products 22 4.1.3 Dried vegetables 24 4.2 By products and wastage 24 4.3 Access to technology 25 4.3.1 Fuel source of technologies used 28 4.4 Cooking times, drying ratios and conversion ratios 29 4.5 Seasonality of processing activities 29 4.6 Access to infrastructure 30 iii 5. Inputs and raw materials 31 5.1 Source of raw materials 31 5.2 Procurement of other inputs 31 5.2.1 Consumable inputs 31 5.2.2 Packaging materials 32 6. Regulation and food safety 33 6.1 Legal and regulatory requirements 33 6.2 Labelling of products 35 6.3 Product consistency 36 6.4 Product quality and shelf life 37 6.4.1 Grading of product 38 6.4.2 Use of additives, preservatives or colorants 38 7. Marketing channels and consumers 39 7.1 Marketing channels 39 7.2 Consumer knowledge 40 7.2.1 Consumers of jam 40 7.2.2 Consumers of dried vegetables 40 7.2.3 Consumers of dried fruit products 41 8. Estimation of potential returns to small-scale processing activities 42 8.1 Returns to small-scale vegetable processing 42 8.1.1 Costs to vegetable processing 42 8.1.2 Case Studies 43 Case Study 1: Mrs Chidokohori, Ruchera Communal Lands, Nyanga 43 Case Study 2: Mrs Mugambiwa, Nyamutumbu 45 8.1.3 Potential importance of value-added processing for improved income generation among small-scale vegetable producers 47 8.2 Returns to small-scale fruit processing 47 8.2.1 Costs to fruit processing 47 8.2.2 Case Studies 48 Case Study 1: Rain Valley Orchard 48 Case Study 2: Mrs Masaya, Nyanga 49 Case Study 3: Jam processing for household consumption 50 Case Study 4: Jam production (RVJCC) and fruit drying (MFPA) among co-operatives 50 8.2.3 Potential importance of value-added processing for improved income generation among small-scale fruit producers 52 8.3 Enterprise growth and competition 52 8.3.1 Vegetable processing 53 8.3.2 Fruit processing 53 iv 9. Constraints and coping strategies 56 9.1 Current socio-political climate 56 9.1.1 Declining purchasing power 57 9.1.2 The rising cost of inputs 58 9.2 Production-related constraints 59 9.3 Cost and availability of packaging materials 60 9.4 Equipment and installations 61 9.5 Climatic constraints 62 9.6 Access to cold storage 62 9.7 Labour 63 9.8 Marketing constraints 63 9.8.1 Transport 64 9.9 Consumer information 64 9.10 Lack of training 64 9.11 Legal requirements 65 9.11.1 Enterprise registration 65 9.11.2 Food safety and SAZ accreditation 65 9.12 Accessing working capital 65 9.13 Classification of constraints 66 10. Summary of findings 69 References 71 v List of Tables 1. Potential case study participants 5 2. Fruit and vegetable production in Mashonaland East Province (tonnes/year) 7 3. Fruit and vegetable production in Manicaland Province (tonnes/year) 9 4. Details of processors/enterprises and source of raw material 14-15 5. Classification of the case study participants 18 6. Examples of training received by some case study participants 19 7. Examples of donors involved in programmes to support small-scale processors 21 8. Types of fruits processed and orientation of activity 23 9. Types of vegetables processed and orientation of activity 25 10. Stages in processing and nature of activity 26 11. Processing technologies used in a sample of enterprises 27 12. Equipment and facilities provided through donor support 28 13. Fuel source of technologies/equipment used 28 14. Access to infrastructure 30 15. Consumable and other inputs required 32 16. Zimbabwe Standard specification for food hygiene during food manufacturing 34 17. Food safety concerns highlighted by the case studies 35 18. Shelf life of end products 38 19. Returns to exchanging fresh vegetables for maize grain, Mrs Chidokohori, Ruchera Communal Lands 44 20. Estimate of costs, Mrs Chidokohori, Ruchera Communal Lands 44 21. Returns to various crops, Mrs Chidokohori, Ruchera Communal Lands 45 22. Estimate of costs, Mrs Mugambiwa, Nyamutumbu 46 23. Returns to dried vegetables (home produced and purchased dried vegetables), Mrs Mugambiwa, Nyamutumbu 46 24. Income generation among small-scale vegetable processors 47 25. Gross margin budget for jam production at Rain Valley Orchards, Nyanga 49 26. Gross margin budget for jam production by Mrs Masaya, Nyanga 50 27. Gross margin calculations for RVJCC and MFPA 51 28. Gross margin/net value added in jam processing 52 29. Percentage increases in price of basic commodities during Jan 2000-Aprr 2001 58 30. Constraints faced by producer/processors and coping strategies adopted 67 vi List of Figures 1. Fruit and vegetable production in Zimbabwe by province (tonnes/year) 6 2. Case study of Mrs Chakanetsa, Murehwa 18 3. Production levels in Rusitu Valley Jam Canners Co-op (1990-99) 54 List of Appendices 1. Producer/processor case study guide and checklist 74 2. Fruit and vegetable production in Zimbabwe by province (tonnes/year) 88 3. Fruit and vegetable production calendars for sample of case study processors 89 vii 1. Introduction 1.1 Background In spite of the widely publicised ‘success’ stories about Zimbabwe in the 1980s, 50% of the population continues to live in poverty. There is still food insecurity, extreme poverty, hunger and child malnutrition at the household level in communal areas, among commercial farming labourers and low income urban families, especially those which are female-headed. Recent research demonstrates that up to 70% of rural households are living in absolute poverty and between 75% and 90% are below the Government of Zimbabwe’s official poverty lines (Chipika, 1992). Land pressure is increasing in communal areas of Zimbabwe, since growth in population has not been matched by a corresponding increase in the amount of land available for cultivation. Rural households in Zimbabwe's Natural Regions IV and V hardly produce above their subsistence levels owing to poor soil and low rainfall patterns. For example, around 55% of farmers in Natural Region IV and 82% of those in Region V reported food shortages in 1993, which was a year of reasonably good harvests (Moyo, 1995). It is becoming increasingly apparent that small-scale farming on its own rarely provides a sufficient means of survival in many areas of rural Zimbabwe. Indeed, most rural households depend on a diverse portfolio of activities and income sources. Some households are looking towards activities such as processing as a means to enhance the livelihood they can achieve from a limited area of land (Simalenga, 1996). Previous research suggests that small-scale food processing activities represent a potential source of livelihood for the poorest people in Sub-Saharan Africa. Food processing may increase the value of crops to poor farmers, through improving shelf-life, adding value and thus yielding higher returns, and furthermore overcoming seasonal and perishability constraints for example. Value-addition via the adoption of improved and validated processing technologies, may help small-scale horticultural producers overcome some of the problems experienced in the fresh produce market, such as lack of market information and market integration, reliance on spot markets, transport constraints and wastage.