© Clive MaquangeOn the three farms run by Loynchip Enterprises, the export pea season has just kicked off, says Clive Maquange, managing director of Loynchip Enterprises, based in Concession area, Mazowe, north of Harare. They start almost two months ahead of other pea exporters in Zimbabwe - how do they manage it? "I'm a technical guy," he laughs.
Maquange started as an auditor at GlobalG.A.P.'s precedent EurepG.A.P. and in 2020 decided to try his own hand at production, spurred on by the growth in Zimbabwe's fresh exports. Today he's running the operations, marketing and certification of three farms.
Competition from Guatemala and Kenya convinced him to stop the production of fine beans and instead focus on sugar snap and mangetout peas.
"On peas we can compete very well with Kenya," he says. "I do 40 hectares of peas, March through to September, and I do 24 hectares sugar snap, a total of 60 hectares per year. Right now I'm harvesting three hectares and I'm planting 10 hectares."
Today he also grows and exports flowers like Ammi, nigella and white aster 'Pretty Wendy' to South Africa and to the Netherlands year round, with peaks during the holiday periods.
© Clive Maquange
During the litchi season, he procures fruit grown at high altitude in the Chimanimani Mountains, straddling Zimbabwe and Mozambique, for exporting to Europe.
He is familiar with exporting to Europe – they take mangetout and sugar snap peas in a 50:50 ratio – but he's keen to expand the pea and flower exports to the Middle East.
Robert Mugabe International Airport is roughly 40km from Mazowe, while sea shipments are loaded out from Durban, South Afrca.
In rotation with the peas, they plant vegetables for the local market and seed maize (seed corn) before replanting peas in the third season. "We have great soils," Maquange remarks, and the leguminous crop adds a further benefit.
© Clive Maquange
For more information:
Clive Maquange
Loynchip Enterprises
Tel: +263 71 407 0012
Email: lantrish.finance@gmail.com