By Delicious Mathuthu
Kwekwe, Zimbabwe – Construction of the new 56,000 metric tonne Grain Marketing Board (GMB) silo depot in Kwekwe is nearing completion, at 85%, with grain storage expected to start this harvest season.
As the Midlands Province is witnessing a significant milestone in the country’s agricultural development, the state-of-the-art facility is part of the government’s efforts to decentralize grain storage and reduce post-harvest losses.
Midlands farmers currently travel long distances to as far Chegutu, Bulawayo and Chinhoi to access GMB storage, incurring significant costs.
A visit to the site during the Midlands Provincial Media tour recently, contractors were busy on the ground with four of the seven silos already erected.
Speaking at the GMB construction site recently, Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Jenfan Muswere, said the new GMB silos are a testament to the government’s commitment to achieving food security and reducing post-harvest losses.
“The decentralization of silos across all districts is a welcome development in order to achieve food security and also in order to deal with post-harvest losses in terms of grain,” he said.
Muswere noted that Zimbabwe has made significant strides in achieving food security, with the country producing over 500,000 metric tonnes of wheat in 2024.
He however emphasized the need to focus on nutrition security and create a sustainable ecosystem that can ensure food availability even in times of drought.
“For what defines the security of a nation in terms of parameters, is not only in terms of artillery but it is also in terms of the capacity to grow our own food, and the capacity to feed our people,” Minister Muswere said.
Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution in the Midlands Province, Honourable Owen Ncube, welcomed the development, saying it would sustain milling industries and create employment opportunities at both provincial and national levels.
“The GMB silos are indeed strategic as they sustain milling industries along the value agricultural chain both upstream and downstream, creating employment and sustaining livelihoods,” he said.
Ncube applauded President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s leadership, saying the new GMB silos are an example of his responsive and people-centric approach to governance and there is need to support government’s 2030 vision.
“The Midlands Province remains resolute, steadfast and unwavering in support of Resolution Number 1; the attainment of Vision 2030 under the stewardship of His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Cde Dr E. D. Mnangagwa,” he said.
Midlands Provincial Mechanisation Engineer, Andrew Mupariwa, said the new GMB silos would address the challenge of bulk storage in the province.
“Most of our farmers were transporting their grain to as far as Chegutu at a cost of around US$600 a 30 metric tonne truck.
“This has come as a welcome move because now we are going to be accommodating bulk storage here at the Kwekwe depot,” he said.
Mupariwa said the silos would accommodate a variety of grains, including maize, wheat, sorghum, and soya beans.
He said the project was currently at 85% completion, with four silos already complete and two others halfway through construction.
As government focuses on decentralization of the GMB, the target is for each district in the country to have silos with another depot in Gokwe, Midlands, having already been sited, and the construction contract awarded.
