Zambians have a complex - Scott
By Kombe Chimpinde
Sun 15 Apr. 2012, 13:30 CAT
VICE-President Guy Scott says Zambians have an inferiority complex because many prefer foreign products to their own. And Vice-President Scott says that there is need to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor.
During the inter-denominational fundraising breakfast meeting at Mary Immaculate Parish yesterday, Vice-President Scott said there was a constant feeling among Zambians that "something is better somewhere else beyond Zambia".
"In this country we have an inferiority complex. You see some of you may have noticed I brought a big cup with me from my home this morning, that's Zambian coffee. I knew I was not going to find Zambian coffee here," Vice-President Scott explained to the audience.
"Here I was going to find South African coffee. And it's inferior coffee, that is the truth of the matter. South African coffee is inferior to Zambian coffee by a large margin, and yet they (Zambians) continue to say ‘oh Nescafe or Ricoffy. See I am stylish."
Vice-President Scott said the other example of desires of many Zambians to associate themselves with foreign elements was in their taste of music where many thought the Zambian version was inferior.
"We shouldn't have this constant feeling that something is better somewhere else. Believe me, it's not. I have been there and most of you have travelled you know it. There is nothing intrinsically inferior about Zambia," he said.
"We just have a big job to do because we are many, they left us, the people who came here, my own people, my own race left us with a very big job to do. A lot of people to bring up... and we can do the job, so let's do the job. Let's not worry always that we are about to be caught out doing something which is not stylish. I can give you so many examples."
And Vice-President Scott said the less fortunate in society were the responsibility of the fortunate.
"This is a gathering of the apa mwamba. You don't get people paying K120,000 each if you are from Bauleni to come here (breakfast function), very few of you anyway. And likewise, if the Parish is in Shang'ambo, it would be amazing if you were even to have five people to pay a K120,000 for a fundraising breakfast," Vice-President Scott said.
"The responsibility for raising the resources and for doing the work (of the church) is our own responsibility and the people who are less fortunate than ourselves are also our responsibility."
Vice-President Scott cited an example of the importance of unity amidst diversity of social classes in society based on the Bible.
"My favourite story in Genesis is how people divided into classes, into ways of life - the story of Cain and Abel. Cain was a practitioner of the new practice of cutting down trees and planting crops and Abel was an old-time practitioner of following wild animals...in the hill and killing them when you required food and something to sell and these brothers fell out and one slew the other," he narrated.
"God famously asked Cain, ‘where is your brother Abel, for his blood cries to me from the ground' and he said ‘am I my brother's keeper?'
Usually people miss the last sentence in that story which is that Cain had a son Enoch who went to found the first city. That was when people divided like you are divided with people of Shang'ombo or even with the people of Bauleni."
Vice-President Scott said Christians had a responsibility of taking care of the poor as much as they had of caring for themselves.
And guest speaker Pastor Helmut Reutter said church members had a responsibility to build the house of God and its family.
Pastor Reutter said God had given Christians various talents and gifts to enable them to work for His Kingdom.
And Parish chairperson Scott Tembo said the local Catholic churches had been facing financial challenges following the global financial crunch.
Tembo said the local churches that had been dependent on benefactors in the West through the Vatican were facing financial challenges as capacities to fund them had reduced due to the current economic recession.
Labels: GUY SCOTT, MARKETING
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Use professional marketers, ZIM advises govt
By Kabanda Chulu in Kitwe
Tue 26 July 2011, 13:59 CAT
ZAMBIA Institute of Marketing (ZIM) has advised the government to utilise the professional expertise of marketers in the quest to market and brand the country as a good and stable investment destination.
And ZDA director Glyne Michelo has challenged marketers to increase their marketing activities because the designation of the country as lower middle income will result in increased trade and investment for Zambia.
During the Copperbelt regional marketing conference in Ndola, ZIM president David Kombe said marketers were major stakeholders in all developmental programmes.
“It is for this reason that as marketers, we have been and will always be ready to take up the challenge when called upon to offer professional advice on the marketing and branding of Zambia,” said Kombe.
“We must admit that the opportunity to work with government has always eluded us due to various unknown reasons but we hope that this can be a starting point for collaboration between government and ZIM. We know that there are numerous developmental projects in government that are marketing related and ZIM can take up and offer professional advice and direction for effective results.”
Presenting a paper titled ‘Business and investment opportunities on the Copperbelt: role of marketing’, Michelo said marketing and trade play a vital role in the economic growth and overall development of a nation.
“Marketing creates a platform for Zambia to undertake export promotion in areas where it has a comparative advantage. Marketing creates the platform to undertake market research on viable markets for Zambian produced goods,” Michelo said.
“With Zambia now being designated a lower middle income country, it is envisaged that the marketing activities will increase since it is visualised that Zambia will record an increase in investments which will lead to an increase in trade and therefore this will require an increase in marketing activities.”
He said government was putting in place measures to enhance investment promotion on the Copperbelt.
“There is need to introduce a one-stop shop on the Copperbelt by ZDA to assist business houses bring down the cost of doing business in the short-term and reduce gaps in policy implementation thereby assisting local manufacturing sector respond to overcome challenges on the ground,” said Michelo.
Labels: GLYNE MICHELO, MARKETING, ZAMBIA INSTITUTE OF MARKETING, ZDA
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Markets: Missing link for smallholder farmers
Monday, 11 April 2011 22:40
By Johnson Siamachira
James Mariga sat on the ridge and looked down at the valley and village nestling on the banks of the Negomo Stream, a swift green torrent of water which joined the major river.
He could see men and women working in the fields, little moving dots against the bright green of maize plants. Mariga felt at peace here - the sound of the river soothed him and eased his frustrations.
At times like this, he sometimes takes out his notebook and writes. He dreams about making a film about life in his Negomo Village of Mazowe District, in Mashonaland Central Province.
It is going to be an angry film reflecting his feelings about a community which has failed to provide him a decent livelihood.
Every day this year, Mariga has worn his faded yellow shirt, no matter the temperature.
As he gazes at the seemingly lifeless blue sky, he awaits a tomorrow which is the same as today and yesterday.
He only hopes that the situation will improve. But, there is also the real fear that things might get worse.
Mariga, a young man in his mid-20s, has not had a steady job since leaving high school.
He has a wife and one child, and the burden of supporting them weighs heavily on him.
He blames the limited horizons of the village society and what he calls the narrow-mindedness of his fellow communities for his predicament.
"There is nothing here and nobody starts anything. This community needs to be changed,'' he fumes.
He is not alone in this frustration. To be young in this village is to run the risk of being unemployed. "What is there to do here?'', demands Mariga.
The Agriculture Trade and marketing Project, implemented by ZimTrade between 2009-2010, was one such avenue that dedicated its efforts to improving smallholder farmers’ access to markets.
The Agriculture Trade and marketing Project, implemented by ZimTrade between 2009-2010, was one such avenue that dedicated its efforts to improving smallholder farmers’ access to markets.
"Outsiders may think it's very rosy here, with all these hills and the river, but if you lived here, you would want to get out.''
Getting out is high on the priorities of the young men in the area.
The towns and cities are like magnet pulling them with visions of steady jobs and growing incomes.
But once they get there, many find that a job in the urban area is not the solution to their problems.
The incomes are not that good, and the jobs are even difficult to get.
Although work is hard to come by in Negomo, a number of people have managed to employ themselves through small-scale horticulture production.
"I grow crops like tomatoes, green vegetables, green beans, onions and oranges,'' says 41 -year-old Violet Kahari.
She is one of the 296 co-operative members at Negomo Irrigation Scheme.
She sells her produce to large scale agricultural trade and marketing companies. She is a beneficiary of an agri-business project that she participated in between 2009 and 2010.
"It is this new found marketing and farming knowledge that I later used productively and profitably to access more demanding markets,'' she added.
With the US$1 200 she got from her four 0,2 hectare farming plots in December last year, Kahari has managed to buy kitchen ware,10 bags of fertiliser, a 21-inch colour television set and a DVD.
"I am now able to fend for my three children. I also bought stationery, paid school fees on time as compared to previously when I would struggle to pay.''
Before, there was an absence of ready markets for the farmers' horticulture products, affecting the viability of the scheme, with some of the smallholder farmers considering abandoning the business.
"Accessing food has vastly improved because I can now purchase sugar, cooking oil, soap and flour in cartons, a development I never dreamt of,'' said Kahari.
Overall, the project facilitated the farmers to improve on production, processing and marketing of horticulture crops.
The participating farmers are now able to negotiate with potential buyers such as boarding schools, supermarkets, hospitals and other companies in Harare and Bindura.
Each of Negomo Irrigation Scheme's 296 farmers has 1,2 ha (0,5 ha citrus, 0,5 ha food crops and 0,2 ha other crops).
All the farmers use sprinkler irrigation, each with five sprinklers to enable all-year round productivity. It was established in 1997 with funding and technical support from KFW (German donors) in partnership with the Government of Zimbabwe.
Between 1990 and the year 2000, the horticulture sector was the second largest agricultural foreign exchange earner after tobacco.
At its peak in 1999, export earnings from the sector were US$144 million, according to the Horticulture Promotion Council of Zimbabwe.
But, can smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe really benefit from the expanding markets for high-value horticulture products?
Sustained economic and income growth, a fast growing urban population, and the increasing integration of global agri-food markets are fuelling rapid growth in demand for high-value food commodities in the country.
This is an opportunity for farmers, especially smallholders, in the country to augment their incomes and use surplus family labour in the production of high-value, labour-intensive horticulture crops.
The transition to high-value agriculture, however, is unlikely to be smooth.
One of the major impediments is smallholder farmers' lack of access to markets for high-value commodities.
Local rural markets are thin, and trading in distant urban markets is not remunerative owing to high transportation and transaction costs.
Besides, they also face challenges in gaining access to credit, high-quality inputs, improved technology, information and services.
Improving smallholder farmers' access to markets requires close linkages between farmers, processors, traders, and retailers to co-ordinate supply and demand.
Institutions such as co-operatives, producers' associations, and contract farming are important means of linking producers with markets, as well as a source of credit, inputs, technology, information and services.
But there is concern that smallholder farmers may be excluded from the institution-driven value chains.
Agribusiness firms, to reduce the transaction costs of contracting with a large number of smallholder farmers, for example, have tended to contract with a few large producers who can supply large volumes and are capable of complying with food-quality standards.
There is also a fear that agribusiness firms may exploit smallholder farmers by manipulating the terms and conditions of contracts to their benefit.
Nonetheless, there is growing evidence that the advantages associated with institutional marketing outweigh its disadvantages.
The Agriculture Trade and marketing Project, implemented by ZimTrade between 2009-2010, was one such avenue that dedicated its efforts to improving smallholder farmers' access to markets.
It worked with more than 1 200 smallholder farmers in selected six provinces of Zimbabwe to facilitate them to access more demanding local, regional and international horticulture markets.
ZimTrade is the national trade development and promotion organisation.
It is a unique joint venture partnership between the private sector and the Government of Zimbabwe. It was established in 1991.
"The overall objective of the project was to increase horticulture exports from Zimbabwe and contribute to poverty reduction of smallholder farmers thereby boosting the country's macro-economy,'' says Crispen Tsvarai, ZimTrade Acting Chief Executive Officer.
Tsvarai also says, "Project activities focused on training in export marketing, market linkages and quality certification.
Ultimately, smallholder farmers were expected to sell their products and learn to produce products that would give them a premium on the market.''
Insukamini Irrigation Scheme in Lower Gweru, in the Midlands Province, is one of the schemes which participated in the agricultural trade and marketing project. Its 111 members currently face challenges in accessing markets.
Despite high demand for horticulture products in Zimbabwe, smallholder farmers at Insukamini have said they are facing difficulties in accessing sustainable markets.
They said there was market manipulation at the Gweru City Produce market by touts who act as middle men between farmers and vendors.
There is also foreign competition, according to Mollyne Majazi, a member of the 22-year-old Insukamini Irrigation Scheme.
"The competition is mainly from South Africa and consists of largely fresh produce,'' said Majazi.
She has a 0,5 ha plot where she grows cabbages, carrots, butter nuts, soya beans and potatoes. She can get up to US$5 000 per year if she produces mostly high-value horticulture crops.
The irrigation scheme was established in 1989 as part of the Government of Zimbabwe funded national resettlement programme.
Farmers were initially selected from communal areas based on demonstrated farming ability on dry land.
The scheme has a membership register and a written constitution which governs operations. An elected chairperson leads operations at the scheme.
Chairperson of the scheme, Silindeni Hlomani, points out, "Smallholder farmers should exploit the export market and engage in contract farming. This will see us taking farming as a business.''
In Sarutani Village, in Chief Hwata,in Ward 22 of Nyanga District in Manicaland Province, Josephine Chindanga farms her 0,2 ha plot of horticulture crops that have kept her busy as a smallholder farmer, and she has no regrets.
Gazing over her lush field of vegetables about to be harvested, Chindanga beams with satisfaction.
"A good season can produce more than US$1000 worth of vegetables,'' she says,'' and this looks like a good season. I don't feel the effects of price increases on food as do other people in towns,'' she says.
Chindanga is one of the successful farmers in this rural Nyanga village. An ambitious farmer always eager to find ways to boost her agricultural production, Chindanga says she lacks three things - agricultural inputs, machinery such as power driven cultivators and access to credit.
However, the production and marketing requirements for horticulture products are much different than for staple foods.
Production of most high-value horticulture crops is capitl and information intensive, and because these products are perishable, they are prone to higher market and price risks.
"Lack of access to markets for high-value horticulture commodities is a major challenge to small farm diversification toward high value food commodities,'' says Tsvarai.
The perishability of high-value commodities necessitates their immediate transfer to consumption centres or markets or transformation into less perishable products.
Local rural markets for high-value food commodities are thin, and the marketable surplus of individual smallholder farmers is too small to be traded economically in distant markets owing to high transportation costs.
In addition, lack of infrastructure such as roads, refrigerated transport, and cold storage, is a major barrier to smallholder farmers' participation in the production and marketing of high-value horticulture commodities.
Evidence shows that the spread of high- value agriculture is poor in areas with poor road networks.
A lack of road connectivity leads to delays in transferring produce to market centres, quantitative and qualitative losses in farm produce, and higher transportation and transaction costs, which act as a disincentive to smallholder farmers and agro-processors to invest in high-value horticultural production and processing.
Policy makers should therefore create a level playing field to allow the growth of the right kind of market institutions, promote competition among various market players and institutions, protect smallholder farmers from institutional exclusion and unscrupulous trade practices, and support them with credit, insurance, technology, and services to improve their competitiveness and ensure food safety for consumers.
Policies should also focus on improving public infrastructure that generates widespread economic benefits.
Labels: AGRICULTURE, INFRASTRUCTURE, MARKETING
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Puma urges sustainable regulation of marketing
By Edwin Mbulo in Livingstone
Mon 08 Nov. 2010, 04:00 CAT
REGULATION mechanisms need to be put in place for marketing to be sustainable, commerce deputy minister Lwipa Puma has observed.
During the award presentation gala dinner for Zambia Institute of Marketing (ZIM) at the Zambezi Sun Hotel on Saturday, Dr Puma said ZIM had continued for many years to encourage rigor, passion and excellence in what he termed “a noble profession of marketing through awarding excellence”.
“Marketing being a highly dynamic and fragile profession in terms of ethics, passion and professionalism, highly contemporary and inspirational, regulation mechanism needs to be in put place for the profession to be sustainable, and one such mechanism is awarding excellence,” he said.
Dr Lwipa said one of the best ways of ensuring sovereignty and integrity in the marketing profession was by awards as this brought sanctity and admiration by others within the domains of the profession.
He added that Zambia was poised for greater economic future following the bold and strong economic policies pursued by the MMD government over the past years.
“With inflation hitting the lowest of just over seven per cent in the month of October, the lowest ever for the country, it simply means that the country is having a turn around and repositioning itself in the sub-Sahara African region as both an investment and tourism destination worth for consideration by global prospects,” said Dr Lwipa.
The best marketing sponsorship excellence award of the year went to National Milling while the best customer service organisation of the year was scooped by Zain Zambia, beating Post Newspapers into second place with MultiChioce getting the third slot.
The best marketing student of the year went to CBU’s Ngambo Lizebete as Hellen Ng’andu of Muvi TV beat Maria Banda of NECOR Zambia for the emerging marketer of the year while Mwabashike Nkulukusa walked away with the award of the marketing personality of the year. Others are Agatha Sibalwa and Mofu Mukuka who shared the best marketing students award of the year.
The best brand marketing campaign of the year was ‘No matter who you are, we listen’ by Zanaco. Mazhyandu Family Bus Services scooped the best SME organisation of the year, beating Muvi TV, while the best public service delivery organisation award went to Zesco as Standard Chartered Bank walked away with the best product launch award in priority banking.
Labels: LWIPI PUMA, MARKETING, ZAMBIA INSTITUTE OF MARKETING
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ZNFU urges govt to address maize marketing disorders
By Chiwoyu Sinyangwe
Wed 02 June 2010, 19:00 CAT
LOCAL farmers are ready to quit maize growing if the government does not adequately deal with marketing disorders, Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU) president Jervis Zimba has said.
And Zimba said the country will have to export an extra 300,000 metric tonnes of maize from the planned one million to avoid carryover stocks depressing local maize price.
Zambia this year produced a record 2.7 million tonnes of white non-genetically modified maize, the first in over a decade.
During a tour of farming installations in Eastern Province by the ZNFU and Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries, Zimba said it was frustrating for farmers to continue getting the lowest returns in the value chain of the staple food when they were the most important players.
Zimba said the 1989 situation when the country produced 1.9 million tonnes of maize and only to slump into a deficit the following year, leading to a collapsed agriculture sector during larger periods of Frederick Chiluba’s regime should serve as a lesson that farmers could easily abandon maize growing if marketing problems were not resolved.
“When Chiluba was president, the farmers stopped growing maize because when we had a surplus, they came in promissory notes,” Zimba said. “We reduced to something around 500,000 metric tonnes and that was all and we started importing and if this is where the country wants...well and good, the farmers will be glad to stop growing maize.”
He regretted that the government had not made a concrete position on how to deal with the current maize bumper harvest despite numerous statements that include exporting the crop.
Zimba said there was need for the authorities to subsidise exports for Zambia to compete with other major producers like South Africa for the regional markets.
He said failure to export the excess maize would lead to a slump in output as farmers could abandon maize growing for other crops.
“There is need to put in a policy direction as to where we are going to resolve the issue of marketing. At the moment, there are so many statements we are hearing,” he said. “These problems in maize marketing have a serious potential to destroy what we built in the last few years.
For two years we have had a surplus but if this marketing situation is not handled with care under government intervention, the potential of it collapsing is very high…there is no way we can leave this maize to rot. In a surplus situation, private sector does not participate and if they participate, they pay the farmer a low price because they don’t care.”
Zimba, who noted that the K65, 000 per 50 kilogramme of maize was not a priority, said the export quota would have to be raised from the current one million tonnes projected by the government.
“We might be forced actually to export a little bit more…our figures, we are looking at exporting somewhere around 1.3 million tonnes in order not to have serious carryovers for the next crop,” said Zimba.
“What we don’t want to see is another huge surplus for the next season. Our priority as national farmers union is how to deal with the issues of marketing.”
Labels: MAIZE, MARKETING, ZNFU
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Govt cautions farmers on briefcase businessmen
By Creavat Chituta in Solwezi
Sat 24 Apr. 2010, 03:20 CAT
THE Ministry of Agriculture has warned farmers in North Western Province against selling their agriculture produce to briefcase businessmen who are offering exploitative prices but instead sell to the Food Reserve agency (FRA).
During the Zambian government and United National High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) organised field day in Meheba yesterday, sitting-in provincial agricultural coordinator Edward Sakuwaha urged farmers to be careful when selling their produce to avoid selling at lower exploitative prices such as exchanging their produce for cheap items like cooking oil, kapenta, second hand clothes or chitenge materials.
Sakuwaha added that apart from selling their produce to FRA as the marketing season starts next month with maize and cassava, farmers could also sell to other business organisations offering competitive prices to enable them to increase income and household food security.
Sakuwaha said the government had continued to support programmes aimed at increasing productivity especially with a programme like Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP), which provides the subsidised agro-inputs which had been extended even to refugee communities like Meheba as well.
He confirmed that over 11 cooperative societies or farmer groups with a total beneficiary of over 664 had benefited from the scheme and had scaled up production for the past farming season.
Sakuwaha said Meheba Refugee Camp had potentially remained unexploited after that major repatriation which took place in 1983 until 2007 when another project was initiated.
“The UNHCR funded project in partnership with MACO has been undertaking crop production, livestock, fish farming and environmental protection activities since it was revived in 2007,” said Sakuwaha.
Meanwhile, Meheba refugee resettlement farmers have hailed the support they were receiving from the project and urged UNHCR and the ministry to continue with the programme so that more farmers could benefit.
Kuwahili women’s club secretary Ireen Kayombo expressed happiness on the way their clubs have benefited from their activities especially with marketing, saying Lumwana Mine was the nearby place where some of their products were sold.
Another farmer who is also a teacher at Meheba Secondary School, Steward Bwembya, thanked the ministry and UNHCR for the support the school had received through the banana plantation they had at the institution.
Labels: AGRICULTURE, FRA, MARKETING
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Farmers cry foul
Herald Reporters
SOME dealers are taking advantage of farmers bringing improperly graded tobacco to the auction floors by offering to buy the crop at low prices before reselling after grading it.
Farmers are losing thousands of United States dollars to the dealers because they cannot afford to take the crop back to the farm for proper grading. According to reports from one of the floors, Zimbabwe Tobacco Auction Centre, the farmers sell their improperly graded crop to the middlemen at low prices.
The middlemen grade the crop properly and then sell it at the market price on the floors.
The farmers would have spent days camped at the auction floors when the middlemen approach them and offer a quick cash sale.
The affected farmers have been selling their tobacco for as little as US20 cents per kg.
Some of the farmers are now hiring private contractors to regrade the tobacco. Private contractors are charging US25c per kg for re-grading.
"After my tobacco had been affected, I was charged US25c per kg by a contractor whom I suspect is working in cahoots with the buyers," said Mr Trust Mhlalinayo of Karoi.
Mr Ephraim Kaitano of Chiweshe said the Government should ensure on site monitors were present to stop middlemen from ripping them off.
"The weighing system leaves a lot to be desired because it is mostly being done in our absence. After processing and weighing my tobacco back in the village, it was averaging 100kg but when I brought it here it had fallen to 40kg. After that I re-weighed it and was still at 100kg. I asked them and was told that scales differ and that my tobacco was of poor quality despite the fact that it got bad here at the floors," he said.
Other farmers claimed their bales were disappearing.
"I delivered six bales, but on the list only four bales are recorded. There is no explanation on what happened to the other two bales yet they were in the same place," said Mrs Betty Gama.
More than 20 farmers had the same complaints.
Meanwhile, the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board is advising tobacco farmers to stop deliveries at auction floors and start booking in advance to reduce congestion.
Mr Meanwell Gudu, the company’s acting chief executive officer, yesterday said tobacco growers should book and deliver on a first come, first serve basis.
He said the practice of delivering today and selling tomorrow would continue at all auction floors.
"We are trying to reduce congestion and waiting periods because farmers are spending a long time at the auction floors," he said.
He said they had capacity to clear only 15 000 bales a day at the two auction floors.
"Booking is now essential and the solution is to have grower numbers by 31 October every year," Mr Gudu said.
This would enable farmers to receive their numbers and use them to book in advance.
The decision by TIMB is in response to growers’ concerns over the time they spend waiting for their tobacco to be processed and subsequently get paid.
Some farmers have been spending up to a week at the auction floors struggling to sell their crop.
Mr Honest Matashu said he arrived at Zitac on Sunday last week, but by yesterday he was yet to be served.
"We are losing a lot of money to food vendors while waiting for our turn. We were here the whole holiday and up to now we have not been served," he said.
Most farmers said if Government did not intervene, they would be forced to quit tobacco farming as the prices they were getting were no longer commensurate with the investments they made.
They said they could not realise any profits owing to the current prices of US$3 per kg for the best grade tobacco.
The farmers said buyers were trying to push them out of business by offering low prices than those offered in February.
At the beginning of the marketing season, the average price was US$3,50 per kg. The price went down to a record US20c before President Mugabe’s intervention, which saw the price rising to an average US$5 for best grade.
The farmers’ joy was; however, short-lived as they dropped again to US50cents soon after the President had left the auction floors.
"With the current prices being offered, I am no longer interested in tobacco farming. Imagine with my six bales I failed to get US$1 000 yet I have inputs, transport and labour costs to cater for among other costs. It is better to grow cotton, which is not paying much but at least you do not wait for long periods," said Mrs Fiona Tsangira of Hurungwe.
However, Mr Gudu yesterday defended the pricing system saying it was in line with international standards especially in Brazil, the world’s largest tobacco producer.
Labels: AGRICULTURE, CORRUPTION, MARKETING, TOBACCO
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Consumer Driven Products Vs Sales Driven Products
By Wesley Ngwenya
Thursday, March 11, 2010, 16:37
This week I want to talk about consumer driven products and sales driven products. As a consumer of many goods and services in the country, I cannot help it but notice how much companies in the country force their products on consumers. Or using what I call the sales driven products approach. This approach focuses on sales and is designed by the company prior to the launch of the product. However, the consumer driven approach tests the market first and develops a strategy according to the demands of the consumers.
While Zambia boasts with so many local fast moving consumer products there seems to be little understanding in the marketing strategy. Little wonder why so many of these products come on the market and eventually experience a natural death. Could it be that the manufacturers of these products have little understanding of the market? Or is it that the products were probably not the best fit for the market? I think really it is a combination of these reasons.
Those companies that have developed and designed their products around the needs of their consumers have experienced a long lifespan on the market. They have constantly continued to consider the consumers. While a sales driven approach is rigid, a consumer driven approach is more flexible. Its products adapt with the market. It is dynamic because it operates with consumers who have dynamic needs and are in dynamic markets.
Sometimes all a company has to do is to change the packaging of the product. While in one market the packaging may be appropriate, in another it may not be. Recently, I have been consulting with companies that are launching new products here in Zambia. One company’s product is tea while the other is detergent powder. Both of these companies are optimistic about their products’ success here in Zambia. In order to penetrate the market the companies had to change their packaging to better meet the needs of the consumers here in Zambia especially their pockets.
It is therefore not surprising that consumer driven products fair well than sales driven products. The tea and detergent powder, for example, were very popular products in their home countries. Consumers knew these products very well and bought them in supermarkets. However, here in Zambia these products did not fair well—hence the different approach. Here in Zambia, they had to compete with some of the big brands on the market especially the detergent pastes. We therefore found that packaging the tea and detergent powder in very small packages did the magic.
Once this was done everything changed for my clients. They suddenly had a new clientele at their table—the lower end of the market. This is actually where the money is because of the numbers. Wholesalers, retailers and little tuntembas were able to order the products and sell them in numbers. The price was very attractive so were the profits. The lower end of the market in Zambia love to buy in small doses. Think about the success of the tujilijili industry in Zambia. It is all about a consumer driven product. The packaging did the magic for the hard liquor companies.
It is not only the manufacturing industry that has had to use the consumer driven approach. Mobile companies, here in Zambia, have been on top of the game in driving mobile subscriptions towards them. The companies that have not only focused on sales but have taken consumer needs into consideration continue being the leaders in the industry. Similarly, those that have focused only on sales continue lugging behind.
Consumer driven products are not necessarily easy products to design. They are time consuming because of the effort in investing in research and consumer behavior. They can be complex and costly too because of the different approaches used. Unlike sales driven products that only need smooth talking salespeople, consumer driven products need skilled salespeople. It needs personnel who better understand marketing and consumers. This means that the company has to invest in attracting good paid personnel. In turn this can raise the price of the product.
I am really looking forward to a time in our industry when companies will save their money and invest it in understanding their consumers. We seem to be having some kind of universal format of communicating to our Zambian market which should not really be the case. The Zambian market can be segmented in various forms. Understanding the ever changing consumer needs in our market is fundamental. Until next time. Adios. Wes_ngwenya *** yahoo.com
Labels: MARKETING
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COMMENT - Finally someone is turning back the errros of neoliberalism and IMF ESAPs, and it's reliance on selfcorrecting 'free markets'.
Government reintroduces Agric Marketing Authority
Agriculture Reporter
Government has reintroduced the Agricultural Marketing Authority to regulate, supervise, develop and administer the marketing of farming produce in Zimbabwe. The move, it is hoped, will assist new farmers enhance production and marketing of their pro- duce.
Announcing the AMA board yesterday, Agriculture Minister Joseph Made said the authority was crucial within the context of changes to the agri-industry in the past decade.
"We want AMA to play the role of a strategic arm that will enhance production and marketing of agricultural products and advance the long term plans of the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development.
"This includes, increase in production and productivity within the agricultural sector," Minister Made said.
The authority is expected to open new and retain current markets and ensure setting of standards.
"We also expect AMA to promote fair pricing," he said.
AMA will work closely with existing marketing institutions and the Agriculture Ministry to enhance orderly promotion of agricultural products.
CBZ managing director Dr John Mangudya will chair the board whose members include former Acting Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Mr Charles Chikaura, Mr Stansalays Goredema, Mr Zvinechimwe Ruvinga Churu, Mr Basil Nyabadza and Tobacco Industry Marketing Board chairman Mr Njodzi Machirori.
Others are Zimbabwe Farmers Union second vice president Mr Berean Mukwende, former Cottco chief executive Mr Happymore Mapara, Mr Tawanda Chitapi of TH Chitapi and Associates, and Mrs Nancy Zitsanza from Agriculture Ministry.
Dr Mangudya pledged to improve agricultural production for food security and for supply of raw materials to manufacturers.
Farmers and farmer organisations have been calling for the reintroduction of the regulatory board following the introduction of the multi-currency system. They felt they were being shortchanged due to the absence of a supervisory instrument.
AMA was established in 1967 and abolished in 1993 after Government adopted the Economic Structural Adjustment Programme.
Labels: AGRICULTURAL MARKETING AUTHORITY, AGRICULTURE, JOSEPH MADE, MARKETING, SAP
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Chiengi agric officer calls for more support towards crop marketing
Written by Florence Bupe in Chiengi
Tuesday, October 06, 2009 7:32:22 AM
CHIENGI acting agricultural coordinator Stanley Chibwe has called for increased support to crop market as a means of promoting economic diversification in the district.
Speaking when Food Reserve Agency (FRA) visited his office on Sunday, Chibwe said the district faced the challenge of depleting fish stock, hence the need to identify and implement alternative growth activities.
“Chiengi has for a long time been depending on fishing for livelihood. However, due to the diminishing fish levels, people have moved up land for alternative farming activities” he said.
Chibwe said the district had registered positive development as crop activities increased.
However, he noted that there was much more that still needed to be done.
He called on agricultural-based agencies to give support to the farmers through increased market access.
“As a district we have high crop productivity. We need increased market access and infrastructure to store our produce”Chibwe said.
“Government should look into these issues to prevent post harvest losses.”
And FRA executive director Anthony Mwanauomo assured that the agency would consider making adjustment in the crop purchasing exercise to enhance market access for farmers in the district.
He said Chiengi district had vast potential to supply substantial quantity of rice and disclosed that K900 million would be spent on rice purchasing in the district next year, but stressed that allocation was subject to adjustment.
Labels: AGRICULTURE, FRA, MARKETING
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There is need to address challenges in agriculture marketing – Chituwo
Written by Kabanda Chulu
Saturday, September 26, 2009 6:04:41 PM
AGRICULTURE minister Brian Chituwo has said there is need to address challenges facing the marketing of agricultural commodities if the agricultural sector is to make a meaningful contribution to Zambia’s economic development.
During the Agriculture Consultative Forum (ACF) stakeholders’ meeting on the possibility of establishing a Public Private Partnership (PPP) marketing institution for Zambia in Lusaka on Wednesday, Dr Chituwo said the development of the agriculture industry was important to economic growth as well as poverty reduction.
“In this regard, development of a well-functioning agricultural market is seen as a necessary element towards achieving this economic development and marketing of agricultural commodities especially those produced by small-scale farmers has continued to be a challenge to both government and private sector and has probably stifled growth in the sector for a long time now,” Dr Chituwo said.
“Since the dissolution of National Agricultural Marketing (NAMBoard) in 1989 and subsequent transfer of marketing functions particularly for maize to the Zambia Cooperative Federation, agriculture marketing in the country has not been very encouraging.”
He said the establishment of the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) in 1995 partially responded to the problems created by the lack of an agricultural marketing institution.
“While FRA is intended to purchase designated crops for strategic food reserves, there are still problems in the market with regard to general crop marketing, especially for crops not designated as well as other commodities,” said Dr Chituwo.
“In this regard, I implore all stakeholders to critically analyse the situation and chart the way forward towards creating a PPP marketing institution and I strongly believe that some of the modalities of the dissolved NAMBoard can still find room in the proposed institution set up.”
Labels: ACF, AGRICULTURE, BRIAN CHITUWO, MARKETING, MARKETING BOARDS, NAMBOARD, PPPs
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Liberalisation of tobacco marketing debatable
By Elita Chikwati
Last week the Herald Business carried an article on tobacco farmers who wanted the marketing of the crop to be liberalised as was the case with other commodities such as maize and wheat. This was met with different reactions from farmers and stakeholders in the industry.
Tobacco growers felt that they were being deprived of the freedom that had been given to fellow farmers producing food crops. Liberalisation of the tobacco marketing meant farmers could sell their crop to willing buyers.
This, according to the tobacco growers, would give farmers a wide market for attractive prices and payment systems.
The tobacco growers said selling their crop through the auction system complicated the marketing process.
One concerned grower said farmers should be given a choice whether to sell at the auction floor or to merchants who will later sell through the floors.
A number of tobacco growers especially in Centenary are selling their crop to middleman who give them cash on the spot. This they say is much better than to wait and sell at the auction floors.
Remember there is the need to transport bales to Harare if the tobacco is to be sold through the conventional system.
Transportation of bales has always been a problem for the farmer. Most of the transporters charge exorbitant fares per bale and farmers have no choice but to pay to have the commodity taken to the floors.
Besides the poor transport system, the tobacco grower always complains of the poor payment system. Farmers for the past few seasons have been experiencing problems accessing their money after selling the tobacco. In some instances they were given small amounts of money in cash while the rest was a cheque which took several days to encash. This forced some tobacco growers in some instances to set up temporary structures near the auction floors.
This is bad for one to be reduced to almost a destitute because of poor payment system.
At one time the farmers were told they would get 15 percent of the proceeds in foreign currency and this never materialised. The farmers who tried to access the funds failed to do so since the process was complicated.
So farmers feel by selling their crop to the merchants they will not experience problems of transport shortage and late payments.
Sometimes farmers need cash to pay school fees, buy food and pay for medication. The farmer should not wait to sell tobacco at the floors to get money. Thus the merchant will be the best person to address the problem.
It is expensive for small-scale tobacco growers to transport few bales maybe one or two to the auction floor.
However, the Tobacco Industry Marketing Board is not in agreement with this arrangement.
In fact police are carrying out investigations and any farmer seen to be side marketing will be prosecuted. TIMB was also talking to farmers through their local leadership to discourage them from engaging in the "illegal" trade.
TIMB acting chief executive Dr Andrew Matibiri said his organisation was working towards addressing the problem.
Contractors have been asked to go out into the farming areas and talk to the growers and assist in the best way to ease the problem.
Now what about those not on contract? TIMB is looking at ways of linking some companies to go and buy tobacco from the farmers. The reason why TIMB was established in 1935 was because the open market system had failed for the tobacco industry. TIMB was meant to co-ordinate the marketing of tobacco so that farmers would realise their due profits.
According to Dr Matibiri, tobacco growers were being ripped off by private buyers who would make huge profits at the end. Thus the board was established to protect the farmers from unscrupulous dealers.
The liberalisation of the market was tried and farmers could export their crop but this did not work.
Of course it may work for a short time but it is not sustainable.
TIMB is warning farmers selling their retained or new crop to private buyers that they will incur losses. For instance the tobacco growers are said to be selling at US$1 per kilogramme but the auction floor could offer a much higher price even after taking into consideration transport and other logistical costs..
It is unfortunate that TIMB tries to explain why farmers should not sell to private buyers but the intended beneficiary who is the tobacco producer is not fully appraised of the situation.
As long as the two groups operate in bad faith, there will always be problems.
These could be solved if the two parties come together and map the way forward. They can discuss the issue until they reach a resolution. Tobacco growers expect buyers to pay them this time in foreign currency. Most growers are expecting an improvement in the payment system. Even if the farmer is to be paid through the bank, he or she would require some cash to meet some basic expenses.
Labels: MARKETING, TOBACCO
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ISSUE: q406
‘Buy our produce’ local farmers urge supermarket chains
01/11/2006
Farmers in the region are complaining that South African food retail chains setting up shop in their countries have a “step-brotherly attitude” towards local produce, writes United Nations news agency IRIN.
“We are deeply concerned and very much disappointed with some of these South African food outlets, who are
refusing to sell Zambian agricultural products,” said Guy Robinson, president of the Zambia National Farmers’ Union.
South Africa’s Shoprite group of companies is the largest food retailer Africa, with 846 outlets in 17 countries across the continent.
A survey by the South African Institute for International Affairs (SAIIA), a Johannesburg-based think-tank, conducted in nine African countries, including Mozambique, Botswana, Ghana, Egypt, Angola, Mali, Senegal and Kenya, found that 10 percent or less of the food in some stores was sourced locally.
“The widest criticism of the South African retailers is that they have established relatively few linkages to local business,” said Hany Besada, a researcher at the SAIIA’s ‘Business in Africa’ section. “Part of the problem is that the stores have a very stringent quality control process and the products that are sold off the shelves require capital intensive investments [which many African countries are unable to make].” Shoprite maintained that it supported local fruit and vegetable farmers in countries like Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda and Mauritius. “Progress has been made in sourcing local vegetables in most African countries. As far as fruit is concerned, the challenge for ... local suppliers in Africa is to develop existing and potential sources of subtropical fruit in order to increase [Shoprite’s] production”.
South African food retail outlets used allegations of “poor quality” and “lack of capacity to provide the required quantity” to justify turning down local producers, according to the Farmers Union of Malawi (FUM), “which is false - they did not even try our produce before rejecting us,” claimed FUM director Benito Eliasi.
“We have very few options as to where we can sell our products, and this is why it absolutely does not make sense to bring in potatoes from South Africa for making chips [French fries], or bring in so many bananas, vegetables and tomatoes when we are growing plenty of these foodstuffs here”, Robinson commented.
Consumers also point out that it would make better business sense to sell local fresh produce, as people know the products. Imported food has sparked a public outcry against a number of retail outlets in Zambia.
“There are certain times when we just want to walk into a food outlet and buy a purely Zambian dish, or when we receive visitors from abroad and they want something totally Zambian - but you can’t find that in most of these food outlets,” said Mary Zulu, a government worker in the capital, Lusaka. Farmers have called for government intervention to protect local agriculture.
“Inasmuch as the government is fighting hard to promote agricultural development, we feel there should be measures put in place to ensure that only foodstuffs that we cannot produce locally, like apples, are imported, not things like chicken, beef, fish or pork,” said Muyunda Ililonga, president of the Consumers Association of Zambia.
“These are some of the trade imbalances that need to be checked as a matter of policy, to ensure that our local producers have a broader market to target for their products. It’s time government started promoting the interests of the local producers, instead of just offering incentives to foreign investors at the expense of local businesses. It should not be just a question of Zambian consumers buying, but also of Zambian suppliers selling their produce,” Ililonga added. (IRIN)
Date: q406
Labels: CAZ, FARMERS UNION OF MALAWI, GUY ROBINSON, MARKETING, SAIIA, SHOPRITE, ZNFU
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Small-scale farmers lack market information
By Fridah Zinyama
Monday June 23, 2008 [04:00]
ZAMBIA National Farmers Union (ZNFU) liaison officer Colliard Hamusimbi says small-scale farmers have no adequate access to market information which has contributed to briefcase businessmen taking advantage of them. Briefcase businessmen have invaded Mpongwe and are
buying a 50 kilogramme bag of maize at K30, 000 disregarding the government floor prices of K45, 000.
According to Hamusimbi, in a presentation he made to stakeholders last week, Zambia is basically characterised by poor market and pricing discovery mechanisms.
Hamusimbi however said the introduction of agricultural market information services by ZNFU with other co-operating partners had enabled farmers to have more access to information which had helped to improve the marketing system in the country.
“The marketing system known as ZNFU 4455 has enabled farmers to know who is in the market to buy their products and what prices they are offering,” he said. “They are able to do this through the use of mobile phones.”
Hamusimbi said since the introduction of mobile trading, more farmers had been able to profitably sell their products and poverty had been reduced to some extent in rural areas.
“Since the introduction of the marketing system in 2006, we have so far had 24, 961 hits which have resulted in about 85 per cent trading success,” he said.
Hamusimbi added that so far, the marketing system was trading in about 14 commodities ranging from maize, beef, soya beans, goats and groundnuts.
“We so far have 94 active traders monthly and we hope to increase this number by the end of the year,” he said.
Hamusimbi said the marketing system was mainly being used by small-scale farmers.
“About 61 per cent of the activities on the system are transacted by small-scale farmers, 20 per cent local traders and 5 per cent commercial farmers,” he said.
Labels: COLLIARD HAMUSIMBI, DEVELOPMENT, FARMERS, MARKETING, ZNFU, ZNFU 4455
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DBSA bemoans poor packaging of Zambia's hydropower projects
By Chiwoyu Sinyangwe
Friday June 13, 2008 [04:00]
DBSA has observed that it is difficult for Zambia to attract interest from potential investors into the hydropower generation sector because most of the proposed projects are poorly packaged. Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) energy specialist Jean Madzongwe however said the problem of poorly packaged projects was not only exclusive to Zambia as it was a regional phenomenon.
“In Zambia, projects that are there are technically viable, everything like the environmental studies have already been done but these projects haven’t been properly packaged to attract investors,” Madzongwe explained.
“They are not bankable, they need a legal framework, the structuring of who actually is involved on those projects, need a credible off-take, so once all that is in place and it has been packaged well, then it would be attractive to all investors and I think that problem is not exclusive to Zambia; it is a common problem throughout the region.
“In fact, the current feasibility study being undertaken by the International Finance Corporation on the Kafue Gorge lower... and already ourselves, we are working with some legal team on packaging Itezhi tezhi power station and the extension of Kariba North Bank should be used as a start point.”
Madzongwe also said there was need to reform power utility companies in the region to make them more responsive to the changing dynamics and challenges of the energy sector.
“The problem we have right now is that the companies that are supplying power at the moment are in a weak situation financially, they need cost reflective tariffs, efficient revenue management and collection system,” Madzongwe said.
And commerce minister Felix Mutati also admitted that the country was always less prepared when courting investors into the country’s hydropower investments.
Mutati said there was need for proper packaging for marketing the hydropower projects.
He stressed that it was economically impossible for government alone to successfully develop the hydropower station of the size of Kafue Gorge Lower.
“There is need for greater imagination and always believing that it can be done. We need to start doing a lot of thinking ‘outside the box’ when we are going to look for money,” said Mutati. “Right now, we are less prepared, we are less persuasive and we need to shift from there.”
Labels: DBSA, ENERGY, MARKETING
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Mbula gives tips on 'Buy Zambia' Promotion
By Lambwe Kachali
Friday November 02, 2007 [03:00]
ZAMBIANS should do away with the casual approach to business if the ‘Buy Zambia’ promotion is to be competitive at international level, Zambia’s High Commissioner to South Africa Leslie Mbula has said. In a statement, High Commissioner Mbula stated that it was difficult for Zambian products to compete with other imported goods, particularly in South Africa because of the poor quality.
He noted that although the promotion (Buy Zambia) was in South Africa, Zambia should continue to encourage and improve on the quality of goods it was exporting to foreign countries.
“I therefore advise the Zambian team that in order for the goods to be proudly Zambian, there is need to improve on the products and services as well,” High Commissioner Mbula stated.
“The end goal of ‘Buy Zambia’ would be realised after a string of excellence. This should start with the improvement of Zambia Bureau of standards until it is proficient enough as well as doing away with casual approach of business.”
The ‘Buy Zambia’ brand team which seeks to promote Zambian products at the expense of imported goods is currently in South Africa to compare notes with their ‘Proudly South African’ counterparts.
Buy Zambia consists of government and private sector individuals and is led to South Africa by Mable Mung’omba.
Mbula expressed gratitude that both the government and the private sector had participated in the undertaking.
Labels: MARKETING
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