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Oliver Kazunga, Senior Business Reporter

BULAWAYO clothing manufacturer, Ticoz Clothing Company, is scouting for land to venture into cotton farming so as to promote value-addition in the cotton-to-clothing sector.

The latest move by the company is in sync with the country’s National Development Strategy 1 (NDS 1), a five-year blue-print anchoring the economy between 2021-2025.

The Second Republic has set its eyes on bolstering productivity across all sectors and the private sector has to play a key role in the journey towards attainment of an upper middle-income economy by 2030.

In an interview on Tuesday after a tour of the company’s factory by Industry and Commerce Deputy Minister, Raji Modi, who was accompanied by the Permanent Secretary Dr Mavis Sibanda and officials from the ministry, Ticoz operations director, Mrs Tafadzwa Gumede, said her organisation targets to put five hectares under the initial phase of the cotton-growing project.

For the planned white gold farming venture, Mrs Gumede said they were seeking land in the southern region of the country.

“We are still looking at the cotton-to-clothing value chain; we are even in the process of looking for land. Maybe even if we get 5ha we can start from there,” she said.

“Traditionally, we are looking at Gokwe and Triangle areas; that’s where most land is, but l would like to argue that’s there are more areas in Zimbabwe.”

Some of Zimbabwe’s cotton-growing regions are Matabeleland North in areas such as Nkayi; Mashonaland West covering places like Sanyati and Mhondoro; Mashonaland East in Mudzi, Mutoko, Murewa; Mashonaland Central in Rushinga, Nyakarowa, Dambakushamba, Nyamahubogo, and Shamva as well as Matabeleland South province in Insiza, Matobo, and Mangwe districts.

“Currently, we are doing soil tests so that we can optimise as well in this region to start even planting cotton in the rural areas where we can also train those people how to plant cotton so that even if we leave, they can still run the project that can help the community as well,” said Mrs Gumede.

“We want to produce cotton and understand the properties that make cotton. So, for us since that aspect (textiles) is new, we need to now start doing the research and development towards that, so that’s what we are in pursuit of.”

Going forward, the manufacturing concern would engage cotton growers across the country for outgrower schemes to boost its operations.

At present, Ticoz factory in Bulawayo’s Belmont Industrial Site is operating with only 10 percent of the 450 workers the company requires when operating at full throttle.

Despite the challenges such as the adversarial effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, limited access to tenders on Government projects, and low frequency in accessing forex from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s weekly Foreign Currency Auction Trading System, the clothing manufacturer has embarked on capacity building programmes for young women and orphans.

“We also do a lot of training, we do training programmes for orphans and women as part of skills building because a lot of our tailors are older and they are moving away from the industry,” she said.

“So, now we can get younger people to rejuvenate the industry, and production will shoot up instantly so that we are able to export.

“What we need is more skilled labour and more trainees so, once we do that, we are able to export more and quicker,” said Mrs Gumede.

In the past, the manufacturing firm supplied both domestic and foreign markets to regional countries like South Africa and Zambia supplying corporate and casual wear.

At present, Ticoz is focusing on the local market supplying retail and industrial sectors.

Deputy Minister Modi and his delegation are on a four-day tour of Bulawayo industries, which ends tomorrow.  Companies that include Zimplow Holdings, Machtec, Ingwebu Breweries, Cotton Pro and Zimbabwe Grain Bag are part of their itinerary.

The delegation is expected to wind up their tour visiting Barmore Investments, Plus Five and Sondelani Ranching. – @KazungaOliver