It seems that macadamia farmers in Zimbabwe are struggling to access funding to support production of the lucrative crop, despite its huge potential to generate foreign currency through exports. According to James Maisiri, the secretary general of Macadamia Association of Zimbabwe, farmers had hoped they would benefit from the recently launched US$30 million Horticulture Export Revolving Facility. The fund is aimed at enabling local farmers to boost production and tackling challenges related to unavailability and lack of access to appropriately structured financing for short to long-term expenditures. However, sources claim "all the engagements with relevant authorities have not been helpful."
"We made our submission to the Horticulture Development Council in Harare but did not get the attention we had hoped. It appears they are focusing on flowers but we believe as macadamia farmers, we have the potential to grow the country's exports but we are lacking funding," Maisiri said in an interview on Wednesday.
Source: herald.co.zw