Published: 3 hours ago

A lucrative US$10 million black pepper farming venture at Sable Ranch Farm in Marondera is under serious threat from rampant firewood poaching, with allegations that state security agencies are involved in the illegal activity.

The project, a partnership between farm owners Tikley Enterprises and Swiss ecosystem investors Silva Terra AG, is expected to generate about US$15 million annually in exports and create 500 jobs once fully operational. Silva Terra AG has already released funding for the first phase, covering 300 hectares.

Black pepper requires woodland environments and trees to grow, making the destruction of indigenous forests on the farm a direct threat to its success.

Last week, Sable Ranch security reportedly intercepted a Zimbabwe Prison and Correctional Services (ZPCS) truck loaded with freshly cut timber from the farm. However, according to farm officials, police ordered them to release the vehicle, allegedly claiming the wood was intended for Heroes Day commemorations.

"This vehicle ferried freshly cut indigenous timber from Sable Ranch through Auchenlarich Farm. Having been apprehended by my security, I was advised by the police in Marondera rural to allow them to proceed," read a message from the farm's security team.

Tikley Enterprises director Edwin Masimba Moyo condemned the incident as sabotage of the joint venture.
"This is the persecution and betrayal I have had to undergo throughout my farming life. A whole truck from the prisons service invades my farm, cuts trees to sabotage my ecosystem joint venture with the Swiss. I am trying to get the economy working, but I am treated like a criminal. Pure sabotage," Moyo wrote on X.

Speaking to NewsDay Weekender, Moyo confirmed that persistent firewood poaching had placed the pepper project in jeopardy.
"It is under threat from firewood poachers. It is hurting to note that there is a choreographed poaching of firewood at Sable Ranch and nothing is being done by the law enforcers," he said.

Efforts to obtain comment from both the police and ZPCS officials in Mashonaland East were unsuccessful.

The controversy now casts a shadow over one of Zimbabwe's most ambitious agricultural export projects, which investors say could become a model for sustainable farming and rural job creation if protected from sabotage.
- Newsday