Oil Seed Association of Zimbabwe (OSAZ) is anticipating a total of 15 000 tonnes of sunflower and 1000 tonnes of soya beans for the 2018-2019 season.
According to the group’s Marketing and Communications Officer Louis Ngoshi, the company is planning to revitalise the oil seed sector by scaling up their out grower programme in partnership with relevant ministries and captains of industry in the Oil Seed sector.
“As Oil Seed Association of Zimbabwe, we anticipate a total of 15 000 tonnes of sunflower and 1000 tonnes of soya beans for the 2018-2019 season.
“The current production of oil seeds in the country is well below carrying capacity. Due to this low production of oil seeds, local oil expressers have had to import crude oil. Moreover, the unavailability of foreign currency has limited further the import of crude oil. We plan to revitalise the oil seed sector by scaling our out grower programme with the aid of relevant ministries and captains of industry.
He added that they are planning to become an Oil Presser to manufacture and produce various products that benefit the health sector among other industries.
“Our plans for beneficiation in this sector include OSAZ becoming an Oil Presser in itself thus giving us the ability to manufacture and produce various products that benefit the health sector, the oil industry (both mechanical and edible), the medical industry and many more.
“We also contract farmers to grow the oil seeds while we provide inputs and agronomy support as well as find markets for them to sell in,” he said.
OSAZ is focused on optimizing the production and processing of oilseeds in African countries through out-grower programmes. OSAZ owes its success to its spirit of entrepreneurship, its meticulous market analysis and the integration of activities along the value chain.
Meanwhile, Oil Seeds Association of Zimbabwe is one of the sponsors for this year’s Zimbabwe Agriculture Media Awards in the Oils seeds sector. The awards will be held on the 28th of June at the Harare show grounds.
