Msasa Agri Holdings has commissioned a cold-chain hub in Mashonaland East, giving its contract growers a place to cool and store produce within hours of harvest.
The company says the hub will reduce the share of produce lost between field and market, and allow it to bid for longer contracts with retailers who require a steady weekly supply.
Growers deliver to the hub from collection points across the district. Produce is pre-cooled, graded and packed before being loaded onto refrigerated trucks.
“A farmer who loses a third of the crop to heat has not had a bad harvest. They have had a bad logistics week. This is what we are fixing.”
— Tatenda Sibanda
The company is also piloting shared solar irrigation pumps for grower clusters and plans a second hub if the first reaches its targets.
