Nico Orgo impact assessment

Wed Jul 03, 2019

Nico Orgo Zimbabwe (Private) Limited’s core business is manufacturing of 100% organic fertilizers, organic enriched fertilizers and chemical blends. These are sold to various farming communities throughout Zimbabwe especially to smallholder farmers.

The company acquired a drying unit, 2 single cab trucks, 3 double cab trucks and 3 Toyota Fortuner vehicles totalling $486,031.75 between February 2011 and February 2013. The drying unit is used to dry moisture during manufacturing of organic fertilisers. Prior to acquisition of a dryer, the company made use of the sun to dry the organic fertilizer. This proved to be time consuming and inefficient especially during the rainy and winter seasons. The vehicles are being used by the agronomists as they deliver fertilizers and educate farmers across the country on making use of organic fertilizers.

Impact of the drier and vehicles financed by ACL:

• Due to mobility of Nico Orgo agronomists, the organic enriched blends were introduced to the market and product performance hailed by smallholder farmers in Mashonaland Central East and West, Manicaland and Masvingo Provinces
• The drier improved the company’s capacity from 500metric tonnes of organic enriched blends in 2012 to 6,000 metric tonnes. Product range expanded from maize to include cotton fertilizers, tobacco fertilizers, vegetable fertilizers and organic enriched top dressing.
• Use of organic fertilizer is cost effective, 20% cheaper. It is also environmentally friendly and a climate change mitigation.
• Organic fertilisers also lead to improvement in yield/ha, translating to more profits to farmers and food security to the rural farmers and they will have surplus to sale.
• The company now has a wide distribution network with 19 Nico Orgo shops and 170 Agro dealers across Zimbabwe employing +200 employees.

The company holds field days where they get feedback and educate small holder farmers on the use of organic fertilizers and below are some of the pictures of Nico crops were organic fertilizer is in use.