Local farmers and small businesses in the agricultural sector often find it difficult to supply produce to major corporations and regional retailers operating in the country. The excuse given by the corporations and supermarkets is poor quality of produce and insufficient supplies, even for items such as vegetables, eggs and fruits. It is the reason foreign-owned outlets claim they are ‘forced’ to ship in produce from their home countries. This leads to loss of revenue each year through imports of such items. The country also misses out on jobs that would be created along the supply chain through local sourcing by the firms. Hopefully, the situation could soon change following a hands-on training to equip sector players with skills required to improve quality. The project by COMESA Business Council and partners to build sustainable sourcing partnerships between local Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and corporate firms will go a long way in addressing this challenge. Otherwise, there should be a limit for big multinationals and other corporate firms on the amount of produce that can be sourced from outside the country to promote local produce. Farmers and SME operators should also be trained on quality and produce handling to ensure quality. Poor standards and low production capacity are some of the main challenges that affect SME opportunities, including selling produce to retail chains operating in the country. This would support the government’s self-reliance agenda. Otherwise, why should major hotels and supermarkets continue to import eggs and chicken from South Africa, Kenya or Brazil when they are readily available in the country? Therefore, the training by COMESA and partners will go a long way in solving the issues, enable small agro-related firms and local farmers to supply supermarket chains. However, as the standards watchdog has pointed out, standards are essential if local producers are to have an advantage over competitors.
