Fertiliser manufacturer ZFC Limited has spent $50 000 on a new product which will preserve grain from attack by pests.
BY TATIRA ZWINOIRA
The product, Atellic Gold Dust, was launched on Friday and will fight the larger grain borer pest that has haunted communal farms.
Speaking at the launch, ZFC managing director Richard Dafana said it took the company three years of research to come up with the product.
“This is one is different in that most of the products on the markets do not control the long grain borer so this one is the only which really does that,” Dafana said.
“We have done quite a lot of trials. The borer itself is not indigenous to Zimbabwe, it is a new pest that has come from trade with other countries.”
Stored maize has given birth to the rise of the new pest larger grain borer which turns the maize into dust if left untreated. Once the Atellic gold dust has been applied consumers can consume the grain after seven days.
According to estimates, a total of 1,56 million tonnes of maize is consumed in Zimbabwe with 120kg being consumed per head per annum.
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“It is going to improve the ability of the country to store grain especially in the rural areas where people harvest and they have to store grain for quite a long time,” Dafana said.
“Most of the products that are on the ground actually just last a few months, but this one will make sure that the farmers can store their grain for the whole year.”
Dafana said there were a number of grain silos where most of the grain is stored, but some quantities were destroyed by pests.
Estimates show that 2 million tonnes of maize grain was under threat and in the presence of larger grain borer weight losses increased from 10 to 20% (100% physical damage) which is 200 000 to 400 000 tonnes affected.
Once the atelic dust has been applied, it has systemic and respiratory/vapour action, acts on the nervous system of the insects (different site to pyrethroids or deltamethrin), controls insects emerging from diapausen which gives the combined systemic and respiratory action give a long-term protection.
Dafana said his company was operating at 35% capacity utilisation “which is not the capacity utilisation we want to operate from”.
“We want to operate at about 80% to 90% capacity utilisation,” Dafana said.
He said that the liquidity crunch made it hard for farmers to buy products which in turn affected ZFC.
Other products that ZFC specialises in are fertilisers (compounds, straights, blends, specialties), herbicides, fungicides, nematicides, animal health products, adjuvants, growth regulators, non — chemicals, specialty fertilisers and insecticides or grain protectants.
ZFC is expected to make the new product readily available nationwide through its distribution network.
Dafana said ZFC has strategies to make the product available and realise profits for the company.
