Chivaraidze Agro-Industrial Park rapidly expanding

Vice President Constantino Chiwenga and his wife, Colonel Minnie Baloyi, say their rapidly expanding Chivaraidze Agro-Industrial Park now employs hundreds of workers across farming, manufacturing, education, and healthcare services as the couple unveiled an ambitious rural industrialization vision.

In a statement, Baloyi said the couple transformed what was once a traditional farming operation into a growing agro-industrial hub over the past four years.

“For many years, farming was our main business, but about four years ago, we changed our approach,” Baloyi said.

“Other than farming, we now do value addition and provide educational and health services to our community, among other things. We do hereby from today change our farm name to Chivaraidze Agro-Industrial Park.”

According to Baloyi, the project combines large-scale agriculture, processing industries, a school, and a clinic, with the agro-industrial section alone expected to employ about 500 workers when fully complete.

The farming division produces maize, wheat, soya beans, potatoes, tobacco, hemp, and traditional grains while also running horticulture and orchard projects.

“We keep more than 300 cattle, 600 goats, over 700 pigs, 1,000 road runners, 6,000 fish, and 500 broilers for the school feeding project,” she said.

“We currently employ approximately 400 workers on a permanent basis on these projects, not counting those who come seasonally.”

The operation has also expanded aggressively into value addition and manufacturing, with completed facilities including a SAZ-certified water plant, milling plant, bakery, oil production facilities, and piggery units.

“A supermarket is almost done and opening soon, while freeze-drying facilities are around 90 percent complete,” Baloyi said.

“This area employs around 100 workers for now, but when complete, it will employ approximately 500 workers.”

The couple also established Chivaraidze Primary School and Academy, which now has a combined enrollment of more than 800 learners.

Baloyi said children from the farming community pay only a small administration fee while some outstanding pupils receive free education and uniforms.

“We inherited children who were non-readers from our farming community, we did free remedial lessons for them for a year, and our first Grade 7 pass rate was 92 percent,” she said.

“We are now aiming for 100 percent.”

She added that the school offers compulsory Chinese and French lessons alongside optional Ndebele classes to give pupils “an added advantage when they go out there.”

The agro-industrial park also includes Chivaraidze Clinic, which caters to workers, students, and surrounding communities.

“We built Chivaraidze Clinic to provide healthcare facilities to our workers, students, and the surrounding communities,” Baloyi said.

“We also have an ambulance available throughout to transfer referral cases to a nearby hospital.”

Baloyi said the initiative was not meant to boast but to encourage investment in projects that uplift communities and create employment.

“I am sharing this with you today not because I want to brag, there is nothing to brag about such basic projects, but because I want to share with you our dreams,” she said.

“My dream is that one day this project will be a case study for generations to come.”