Farmers in rural Masvingo are being forced to feed ripe mangoes to their livestock or dump them in pigsties after being cut off from markets due to poor road conditions worsened by heavy rains.
Like other provinces in Zimbabwe, rural Masvingo has poorly maintained gravel roads and low-lying bridges, making travel impossible during the recent floods and persistent rainfall.
Agricultural analyst and Knowledge Transfer Africa (KTA) chief executive, Charles Dhewa, said:
“Recently, I received a call from farmers in the Gutu-Bhasera area who have ripened mangoes and are seeking buyers.
“Each household has more than 10 mango fruit trees and some have big orchards.
“The demand is there in all urban markets, but the challenge is that of moving the produce from production areas to customers.”
Dhewa said that the Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (ARDA) had at one point shown interest in buying the abundant mangoes from rural communities for processing at its Norton plant.
However, ARDA prefers fibreless mangoes, while most rural communities grow small, sweet mangoes that develop naturally.
Dhewa added that, although the small mangoes have a superior flavour and taste, they are not ideal for processing because the rough fibres tend to stick to the machinery.
In an interview with The Herald, a communal farmer from Zvemidza Village in Gutu’s Ward 14 said that ARDA had promised to buy their mangoes, but this has not yet happened. He said:
“We are still waiting for officials from ARDA who promised to come to our rescue. ARDA expressed interest in the paraffin and brooks mango varieties but they are yet to come.
“We have resorted to feeding the mangoes to pigs or throwing them into cattle kraals as there are no buyers here.”
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