FARMERS TIPPED TO EXPLORE BANANA & PAPRIKA PRODUCTION

Agri-business firm Synthesis Agriculture is imploring local farmers to venture into banana and paprika production to complement deals they have secured in foreign markets. Speaking to The Daily Times, the organisation’s managing director Dickson Likowe revealed that his firm aims to work with 1000 farmers to meet the demand by banana and paprika buyers.

Likowe outlined that his firm has a demand of 12,000 tonnes of paprika per month and 6,000 tonnes of bananas per month in Johannesburg, while revealing that there is demand for these crops in Cameroon, Botswana and the UK.

The development follows a resonating call for diversification, after Malawi’s cash crops have been seeing a decline in prices. For instance, tobacco has seen a lowered demand due to worldwide anti-smoking campaigns, while Maize has suffered from the delay of Admarc opening, leaving vendors to buy maize at cheaper prices.