CBZ Agro-Yield ventures into blueberry farming

CBZ Agro-Yield, an agro business unit of financial services group, CBZ, revealed that plans are underway to set up a blueberry farm near Shamva, 80 kilometers north-east of Harare, after the successful completion of a pilot project last year.

The business collaborates with a number of partners to ensure that farmers’ crop yields continue to rise thanks to improved techniques like agricultural mechanisation.

Farmers have recently received support from CBZ Agro-Yield through the financing and distribution of inputs.

Now the CBZ Agro-Yield talks about the launch of the Blueberry Scheme in Shamva. Berry farming is one type of agriculture that has a lot of promise but isn’t used frequently in the nation.

“In 2021 saw the finalisation of a pilot project, which will see the establishment of a blueberry farm near Shamva. The land that has been set aside for the project comes equipped with the necessary infrastructure, which will result in the reduction of start-up expenses,” CBZ said in its 2021 annual report.

As a fruit that is both convenient and healthy, blueberries have gained popularity. The number of consumers in Europe is rising, with the UK and Germany seeing particularly high demand.

“Resultantly because of this scheme, Agro-Yield will become an exporter of high-value crops, which will generate foreign currency for the business and go a long way in value preservation.”

The soil in Zimbabwe has been gaining some popularity for its blueberry production and the soil there seems to have magical properties for growing blueberries. This occurs as Zimbabwe’s population of new cultivators is expanding quickly.

To access their funds, Zimbabwean producers must overcome a special set of obstacles, and they frequently suffer a strain on their operating cash flow to pay for items like frost fans or packing material. In the Far East, the blueberry market is now comparatively underdeveloped.

When you see berries in supermarkets and other places, they usually cost a lot of money because of their tremendous value. They are also very valuable as exports.

Blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and mulberries are a few of the more popular berry varieties. On a typical acre, at least 6000 blueberry plants can be planted. It can take blueberry plants up to three years to reach the point where they can consistently bear fruit.

Their fruit output will be at its highest when they are roughly six years old. After roughly 10 years, the plants achieve their full growth size.

Once the plants are fully mature, you may anticipate an average output of 4 kg of fruit every season and 24 tonnes of blueberries each season would be produced if you had 6000 plants per hectare.

The commercial banking division of the CBZ recorded the greatest net profit before taxes, totaling $10 billion. The microfinance division of the business, RedSphere Finance, saw the largest profit growth during the year, growing 2 641 percent to $458 million. The Agro-Business unit’s Agro-Yield division had the worst performance after its earnings fell by 160 percent and resulted in a loss of $1.7 billion before taxes.

According to CBZ’s 2021 results, the bank has lent to the agricultural industry over 50 percent of the time, with the distribution industry coming in second at 18 percent. For the 2019–2020 growing season, CBZ Agro-Yield, which provides state-guaranteed loans to farmers, took over funding for agriculture from the government-led Command Agriculture.

Due to its participation in command agriculture and other government-sponsored agricultural funding programs, the group has extensive exposure to the agricultural industry. The initiatives’ soundness and economic viability are subject to some discussion. Recent reports indicate that CBZ, which has also taken on the role of major financier, is attempting to gain more influence over the coordination of the initiatives.-ebusinessweekly