SHANNISE DZOBO
MASVINGO – Masvingo City Council has set its sight on upgrading the age old Garikai Vegetable Market for traders to operate in a clean, healthy and friendly environment.
This was said by the newly appointed Director Housing and Social Services, Simbarashe Mandishona at an agroecology markets advocacy workshop held in the ancient city recently by Knowledge Transfer Africa (KTA) popularly known as eMkambo.
The two-day engagement was aimed at coming up with up with strategies to recognize, support and protect agroecologically produced products supply chains in Masvingo Province.
“As Council we already have a master plan for upgrading the Garikai Market stalls so that they meet the standards of fruit and vegetable vendors and in particular to agroecology produces we are going to work hand in hand with them to see how best we can accommodate them,” said Mandishona.
“Since we are having a new Central Business District to the other part of town which is going to be close to Garikai Market we are going to try by all means to upgrade the face of the market so that it gives a good impression for those who are going to do business at the market”.
Clever Mukove the KTA manager said that the engagement was a an eye opener to all the stakeholders who included farmers, vendors and the city council since they need together so that they come up with resolutions in making Garikai Markert a huge market place for fruit and vegetables which are grown in an agroecological way like Mbare Market in Harare.
“This engagement was an eye opener to all the stakeholders in Masvingo especially the farmers, vendors who are the middlemen to our consumers and the city council of Masvingo so that they come up with plans to upgrade Garikai Market to get to Mbare Market standards,” said Mukove.
KTA in partnership with Participatory Land Use Management (PELUM) Zimbabwe conducted this stakeholder meeting to provide a platform to build homegrown strategies for recognition, support and protection of Agroecology commodity markets in the country.
Martin Shaka the chairperson of the Garikai Fruit and Vegetable Market told The Midweek Watch that they are quite happy with the engagement for they have been able to share their concerns with the City authorities as vendors.
“We are quite happy for this engagement that was provided for by KTA and PELUM so that we share our expectations with the authorities on the type of stalls that are suitable for our produce,” said Shaka.
eMkambo has been working in agricultural mass markets for more than 10 years.
These markets take more than 70% of what is produced in Zimbabwe, that is, indigenous food like small grains, indigenous chickens and fresh produce.
