Feasibility study for the MDU central warehouse and its market potential at the Chinyudze service centre, 1987

In 1986, ZIDS was contracted by HIVOS of Holland to carry out a comprehensive study of M.D.U. and its member co-operatives, the results of which were analysed in a seminar held at Tanhi Co-operative in December, 1986. It was at this seminar that, in view of the problems faced by the M.D.U. and its affiliates, a resolution calling on the M.D.U. "To organise central storage for inputs to ensure timely deliveries", was passed and adopted. What remained was to find ways and means of implementing this decision. With this and other resolutions in mind, the M.D.U. and ZIDS organised planning Workshop for the M.D.U. co-operatives at Mukute Co-operative in July, 1987. One of the main objectives of this Workshop was, to identify concrete needs, actions and projects required by the M.D.U. and the means of their implementation, as basis for developing the M.D.U. Five-Year Development Plan, and to begin the reorganisation of the M.D.U. To this end, a number of proposals of Income and Service projects, which included a warehouse, transport farm equipment, workshop/garage and a crop marketing scheme, were developed. In October, 1987, the provincial and regional offices of the Ministry of Co-operative Development offered the M.D.U. land on which to build its head quarters and central operations depot. The M.D.O. swiftly grabbed the opportunity and immediately requested a feasibility study to guide their operations. It was agreed by HIVOS and the M.D.U. to finance the exercise from the interim M.D.U. budget. The ZIDS team then pooled together a variety of written materials, information and resources for the study and complemented these with a field survey. The results of this work which was undertaken during the months of December 1987 a nd January 1988, are reported here.