Church Farms in Zimbabwe to Become “profitable” after Bishops Sign Deal to Supply Wheat

Through the agreement with the producers of Lobels and Harvest brands of bread, ZCBC members say that the “the Church will receive a fair percentage of the selling price of the bread.” 

A percentage “will be given to the Church on the sale of bread to help it to become financially self-sustaining in addition to supporting wheat production on the Catholic and Community farms,” Catholic Bishops in Zimbabwe say.

In the statement signed by ZCBC President, Archbishop Robert Christopher Ndhlovu of Harare Archdiocese, the Catholic Bishops call on the people of God in the country to support the local Church by purchasing the Lobel bread. 

“A purchase of a loaf of Lobels or Harvest bread is not only a good and healthy choice for you and your family; each loaf is supporting local Church wheat farms and each loaf is bringing money to finance the local Church's mission nationwide,” Catholic Bishops in Zimbabwe say.

“You build the Church one loaf at a time when you choose to buy a loaf of Lobels or Harvest bread," they reiterate, and add, "In the mean time you will not have sacrificed anything, the quality is good, and the price is the same." 

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ZCBC members further call on the faithful in the country to be ambassadors of the initiative by marketing the Lobels products. 

"It is just your choice to build or not to build the local Church with your bread brand choice!” Catholic Bishops in Zimbabwe say. 

In the November 2 statement announcing the launch of the Stellar Mundi Industrial Hub, ZCBC members said the initiative will help Zimbabweans access affordable and quality inputs. 

The Catholic Bishops added that the Hub "will add value to most of the value chain agricultural output into branded consumer goods that will be marketed nationally and exported into the region."

They further said that Stellar Mundi Industrial Hub would empower the faithful in Zimbabwe to "build the Church one ordinary action at a time." 

From the simple actions, ZCBC members said in their November 2 statement, "Ordinary Catholics doing ordinary everyday things can achieve extraordinary results, e.g., building the Church one Catholic loaf at a time! Or Building the Church one bag of maize seed at a time, or indeed, one Catholic grown chicken at a time!”

This story was first published by ACI Africa on 29 November 2021

Magdalene Kahiu is a Kenyan journalist with passion in Church communication. She holds a Degree in Social Communications from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA). Currently, she works as a journalist for ACI Africa.