CommuTalk Reporter
KWEWKE: Sable Chemicals has assured the nation that there are enough fertiliser stocks for the forthcoming 2020-2021 summer cropping season Sable Chemicals Board Chairman Shingai Mutasa has said.
Mutasa made the remarks during a Ministerial plant tour at the company recently. He also revealed that the company’s target is to become an industrial agro- processing hub for Midlands province.
“The company has got enough fertilizer for the current farming season. We are looking at creation of other agro-processing products and this is towards utilizing land that sits around sable chemicals,” Mutasa said.
Commending the development, Industry and Commerce Minister, Dr Sekai Nzenza said the company had done a good job and urged Sable Chemicals to tap into regional markets to stimulate export growth and earn foreign currency.
“This is a remarkable development considering you have had the nation covered amid the difficult times. We should however forget to produce local and embrace President Emerson Mnangagwa’s vision of producing and consuming local while exporting,” Dr Nzenza said.
Midlands Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Senator Larry Mavhima also said improved production at the fertiliser producing firm will have a positive effect on agricultural productivity and food security.
Improved production at this plant plays an important role in the government’s agricultural recovery plan. This plan will help in the attainment of food security through smart agriculture, technology,” Senator Mavhima added.
Located in Kwekwe, Sable Chemical Industries Limited is Zimbabwe’s sole manufacturer of nitrogen-based fertilizer, ammonium nitrate (AN). The company was incorporated in 1965 and started operations in 1969 using ammonia, a key raw material in the fertilizer making process, which at that time was imported through Sasol, South Africa.
