Source: The Herald Breaking news
Thupeyo Muleya-Beitbridge Bureau
The opening of a new animal and plant quarantine centre in Beitbridge is expected to go a long way in boosting disease control and facilitating the smooth exports and imports of agricultural products.
Zimborders Consortium, in partnership with the Government, has completed the construction of a new animal and plant quarantine as part of the US$300 million Beitbridge Border Post modernisation programme.
The development is also expected to decongest the country’s busiest inland port of entry which clears an estimated seven million travellers annually.
The facility is located 5km north of the Beitbridge Border Post.
It is one of the key projects under the border modernisation programme that is set for completion end of June.
Within this facility, there are various laboratories with a special focus on animal health, general hazards, and farming-related equipment that will be examined for conformity with import and export regulations.
Some of the laboratories will be managed by the Environmental Management Agency (EMA), Veterinary Services Department, Agriculture Plant, and the National Biotech Laboratory. These will help decongest the border since this department will be based in Beitbridge on a full time basis to attend to issues as and when they arise. Livestock Farmers Union chairman, Mr Sifiso Sibanda, said: “This is a very critical facility for disease control, especially for us as communal and small-scale farmers. It is important to have such facilities in the rating structure and puts us in a good standing in terms of the product we supply on the export market.”
Mr Sibanda said the facility would also boost many farmers in Beitbridge, who rely on livestock production as a source of livelihood. The farmers, he said, will have unlimited access to the new facility considering that most of them were importing better goats and sheep breeds from South Africa.
“They will be able to export or import disease-free animals and everything will be done according to the book at that place,” said Mr Sibanda.
Zimborders Consortium chief executive officer, Mr Francois Diedrechsen, said they handed over the facility to the Government for further management late last year.
“We have completed the animal and plant quarantine facility and handed it to the Government. We understand they are now working on the necessary process to operationalise it,” he said. Beitbridge’s Health and Plant Inspector-in-Charge, Mr Levy Gama, said the new facility was a one-stop-shop for importers and exporters and has resulted in improved efficiencies, considering that all laboratory analyses would be done on the spot.
Previously they would send samples to other urban areas, especially Harare, which was time-consuming.
Mr Gama said the new plant has laboratories and incinerators for them to do the laboratory analysis and to destroy rejected products.“In addition, this is good for citrus and horticulture farmers since we will be able to do all the necessary checks for exports and imported raw materials closer to them,” he said.
“We are also now able to do our inspections without overloading trucks in the border, lab results can be obtained on the spot (while) destruction using available incinerators has made our job easier and we have enough storage for intercepted consignments.”