The Sunday News
GOKWE has always been lagging behind in terms of development with schools about 20km apart, a poor road network, poverty, hunger and diseases such as malaria.
Water in the area is also scarce and this already dire situation has been worsened by diminishing cotton production which was once the lifeline for Gokwe farmers.
Farmers have reverted to traditional subsistence farming of maize, ground and roundnuts, and other crops for their own consumption as they protest unprofitable and uneconomic cotton prices being offered by ginners and other cotton buyers.
However, sporadic rains and perennial dry spells in this Region Five area has made it difficult if not impossible for farmers to realise yields that can sustain them up to the next harvesting period. Engulfed in this concoction of calamities, hope has been turned to gloom for the villagers as their cattle also are dying on a daily basis as grazing areas and water have become scarce.
Most villagers have lost hope and believe that they are cursed with no wish to better themselves.
However, an old English adage — the best things are found in places where you least expect them — aptly sums up the success of a Gokwe groundnuts farmer, Mr Mugove Dauramanzwi from Mujere Village under Chief Gumunyu in Nembudziya, who has seen this situation as an opportunity to transform his and other villagers’ livelihoods with limited resources.
After the continued deterioration of the quality of cotton to Grade C which in turn led to the white gold fetching less on the market than it used to in the previous years, Mr Dauramanzwi reverted to groundnuts farming taking after his grandfather who was a famous groundnuts farmer in the area.
Cognisant of the little money which the groundnuts fetch on the market as they are being sold for $2 per 20-litre bucket, Mr Dauramanzwi has now taken an initiative to value add his groundnuts and invented a groundnuts peeler, blower, shelling and roasting machine as well as designing a unique peanut grinding machine which uses charcoal, coal or electricity depending on the available source of energy.
The shelling machine, which uses electricity or any other source of energy such as solar and batteries, removes the shells of the groundnuts before they are fed into a roasting machine which uses electricity, wood, charcoal or coal.
The roasting machine has a capacity of roasting 40kg of groundnuts in 30 minutes and has a thermostat which regulates the heat to ensure that the nuts are heated and roasted to the desired levels and standards that enable them to produce quality peanut butter.
After roasting, the groundnuts are put in a peeler and blower where they are cooled, peeled and their outer thin layer is blown away after which they are taken into a peanut grinding machine which has a capacity of producing 40 litres of peanut butter an hour.
All these machines were designed and assembled by Mr Dauramanzwi who believes he has the natural talent of inventing machines. He branded his peanut butter machine Marcus Garvey after the Jamaican philosopher and self-proclaimed prophet who founded the “back to Africa” movement in protest against slavery and racism. His teachings inspired Mr Dauramanzwi who believes that although there is great potential in Africa, the fear of the unknown is the biggest obstacle.
“I invented all these machines except the peanut grinding machine which I designed and made from scratch but borrowed the concept. I meditate a lot and ideas come flowing in my mind. We have great potential as Africans but we look down upon ourselves. These machines have assisted me to realise more that I would have from selling groundnuts for $2 per (20-ltr) bucket. I add value to the nuts and sell a different product which fetches more on the market. I also designed these machines so that other farmers will utilise them. While many people of my age are on the streets selling tomatoes, airtime recharge cards and other things, I have decided to do something different which can transform my livelihood,” he said.
Mr Dauramanzwi appealed to the corporate world to assist him so that more people can benefit from his inventions.
Apart from these inventions, Mr Dauramanzwi invented a cooking grinder by-product utiliser blender for stockfeed production in 2004 and received an award for the invention from African Regional Industrial Property Organisation at the Intellectual Property Expo.
He still produces stockfeed for cattle farmers.
Mr Dauramanzwi said Zimbabweans should take heed of the Zim Asset value addition concept and “move a notch up”. He said Government should invest more in the field of science and technology as these have become more relevant in the country as far as economic revival is concerned.
Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development Minister Professor Jonathan Moyo said universities and polytechnics should enroll more students in the field of science and technology while there was a need for university students to have Ordinary Level Mathematics.
The value addition and beneficiation strategy is anchored on the private sector taking a key role in the funding and execution, with Government providing the necessary support in terms of alignment, consistency and cohesion of policies that include among others, the Industrial Development Policy, National Trade Policy, National Tourism Policy, Science, Technology and Innovation Policy, Minerals Development Policy, National Procurement Policy, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Policy and Local Authority Licensing and Regulation Policy. The success of the value addition and beneficiation cluster is dependent on the availability of key enablers that include energy, water, transport and ICTs.
