I am sharing here with my Facebook friends a VERY IMPORTANT Report. It is the latest on our Farm, Orphanage and Church-Planting School project in Zimbabwe.
Aaron Zimmerman, a full-time farmer here in Lancaster PA where I live, visited our Farm and inspected the place in detail. He has written a very good short Report from his viewpoint as an experienced professional. I am attaching his report for you to read. Please read it carefully; I am open to any feedback or input that you have.
AARON ZIMMERMAN'S REPORT:
I talked with different people in my travels and it looks like it is a new day in Zimbabwe. The testimonies I heard in South Africa and on the plane was that Zimbabwe is full of great potential and good people. After meeting Pastor Mavondo, Pastor Christopher Alam’s Director of Operations in Africa, I can feel confident that he is a good man of integrity and that his knowledge in agriculture and his excitement for the Farm, Orphanage and Church=Planting School ministry will bring successes. The soil is very hard thus requiring large equipment but I saw nearby farms there that have irrigation and the crops are good. The economy is looking better, the stores have stock again and they now work with US dollars.
Equipment:
Tractors and Farm Equipment are cheaper to buy in neighboring South Africa, and there are no Importation or Customs taxes in crossing the border. There are good maintenance service facilities in Zimbabwe to do repair work. Just stay away from equipment that is computer controlled.
In South Africa there has been a shakedown in Agriculture. They have gone down from 80,000 farms to 20,000, so this has put some equipment on the market. It costs $2500 to truck equipment from South Africa to Zimbabwe. I gave Pastor M. some dealer magazines that I picked up in South Africa. I recommend that he or someone that he trusts go and buy what they need. Pastor Mavondo seemed to know and to understand farming equipment.
In South Africa I found a John Deere dealer, AFGRI, www.afrgi.co.za . They seemed very professional, friendly and helpful and they are part of a network of 80 dealerships. They can provide parts and would be good guys to deal with. I have several photos of their large inventory.
Wells:
Irrigation Boreholes/Wells are needed for irrigation purposes. There are 3 existing boreholes but they have only 2” pipes and are good for gardening only.
Gold Mining:
There are 64 men that are working in the mines. Some have had to stop due to the water in several of the mines and in others hitting hard rock. There they need a jack hammer and some explosives.
They hit water in three of the eight mines where they are digging for gold and this needs to be pumped out before these 3 can go on mining. This should be pumped into a reservoir for irrigation use. Just pumping it out on the land will only create wet spots that will become waste land and it is very likely that the other mines will produce water also. For this water pump is needed urgently.
The wages system is structured that the miners get 50% of the income minus the costs of equipment and hauling to get ore to the processing system, leaving them with about 20-30%.
I recommend that money be sent to buy water pumps, compressors, jack hammers explosives and a means to reserve water ASAP.
Seed etc:
Farmers can’t get loans so many are planting less acres thus making the seed supply plenteous. Less acres means less grains at the end of the season which should help to keep grain prices high and storage space at the mill should not be a problem. The place grain would be unloaded is around 2-3 miles from fields. Grain is mostly bought by the government but also privately owned mills and so on, this should help to keep prices strong. Barley $600, corn $800, and soy $800-1000 per metric tons.
Management:
There are I think 5 people on the board or management team and all have extensive experience the departments that they are to oversee. Pastor Mavondo gave up his right hand equipment driver from his own farm for this project. This man was trained to be an equipment dealer and I am confident after watching him operate some of the equipment that he will take good care of anything sent there. There is also a team of 16 men on security most of them wear more than one hat.
Gold Separating site:
They should be ready in about a week or less to start. There could be some unforeseen things to work out. The men have been digging for 3 weeks and have a pile of ore ready.
Contributions may be sent online via www.pentecostalfire.com
or
AFRICA FARM PROJECT
Dynamis World Ministries
2384 New Holland Pike
Lancaster, PA 17601
USA
