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Zimbabwean start-up redefines agriculture

04 May, 2018 - 00:05 0 Views

eBusiness Weekly

Enacy Mapakame
Shift Organic Technologies (SOT) is not yet an industrial giant in agro-processing with products dominating local shelf space. But founder, Clive Nyapokoto says the firm aspires to spread its tentacles across Zimbabwe and even enter the export market, especially as people across the globe are becoming more health-conscious and thereby opting for organic foods and herbs.

The agricultural manufacturer uses a smart integrated organic agriculture vermi-aquaponics system to grow its crops.
Simply put, it’s a better way of farming!

Nyapokoto said the company’s products were beginning to gain traction across the country on the back of increased participation at various fairs such as the CBZ International Expo, the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair, the Harare Agriculture Show, international exhibitions and some farmers’ markets in various farming districts.

The Marondera-based company started off with two people but has since grown to eight staffers. The firm seems to be on the right path and will be counted as one of the companies that started from humble beginnings to become a big conglomerate.

SOT is anchored on technological innovations to boost agro-processing and farming procedures.

Using technological innovations, the start-up company has worked on enhancing vermiculture, aquaponics, maggots, bee-keeping, mushroom, organic fertilisers, organic pesticides, nursery herbs, nursery fruit trees, orchards, small livestock, processed herbs and spices, honey and the byproducts from honey.

The focus, Nyapokoto said, is to revolutionarise agriculture through use of IT infrastructure, which in turn should boost production, create employment, improve livelihoods of Zimbabweans and the economy as a whole.

One of the key innovations Nyapokoto has come up with include smart integrated organic agriculture Vermi-Aquaponics System(VA System).

The system enables farmers to grow crops in an artificial environment using ICT technologies to manage the operations over the internet.

By utilising animal waste, recycling of water and maximum use of space embedding ICT technologies in such a system will enable remote monitoring and control of the system and hence accurate real time data recording by the use of sensors which will send data over a network.

Also lack of proper technologies especially among small scale farmers to monitor the application of agrochemicals and land degradation has reduced the amount of productive land.

The VA System is therefore an innovative solution that seeks to address productivity in organic agriculture, through the combination of different organic farming activities and integrating them with ICT technologies.

Already, SOT has used some of its technological innovations for value addition with products such as dried vegetables, herbs, honey and honey products on the market and receiving good feedback from the market.

“Increased demand for nutritious organic food by most people has also put pressure on innovators to come up with ways to increase productivity in the organic agriculture sector,” said Nyapokoto in an interview with this paper.

He added the demand for sustainable, efficient farming methods and equipment to boost agriculture production by farmers, will see SOT’s innovations growing in the country and beyond.

Zimbabwe has over 14 million people and the number is expected to grow putting pressure on farmers to produce for food security and exports.

To meet the demand, farmers need more sustainable methods which makes SOT well positioned to tap into that market.

“In the next five years SOT will be a million dollar company. The team I have is dedicated and we share a common vision. We are going to revolutionarise agriculture,” he said in an interview.

Through use of ICT, SOT seeks to promote agro-processing and cut on imports of agro-processed foods. Apart from the technological innovations for agriculture production, the firm has a wide range of products such as dried vegetables, fruits and herbs.

“There is great potential in the agro processing industry in Zimbabwe. We are importing a lot of products that we can be able to produce locally

“Our products like honey and herbs are doing well in the market. We have so far also managed to setup the Vermi Aquaponics units in more than 10 communities.

“Our apiary in Marondera is growing and we are also helping other farmers to start their own apiaries. We participate in local farmers markets every week and the sales are good,” he said.

Although SOT has received support from Government through the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) and the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology Cyber Security, Nyapokoto said funding was still a constraint to the business so too was the shortage of land to expand projects or to use as demo plots.

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