The Sunday Mail
Sunday Mail Reporter
Grain Marketing Board (GMB) has embarked on a rebranding exercise that will see it changing its image and mandate.
The changes reflect the organisation’s evolution from a predominantly grain storage company to a key player in the agriculture value chain in line with Vision 2030.
Notable changes include the logo, colours and the motto, which will be altered from “Dura reZimbabwe” to “Assuring Food Security”.
In a statement, GMB chief executive officer Mr Rockie Mutenha said the rebranding signals the rebirth of the parastatal.
“It is also rebranding to communicate a message of a new creation which is customer-focused and more efficient as we journey to achieve a prosperous and empowered Vision 2030,” he said.
GMB will be enhancing its relationship with farmers and other stakeholders by addressing concerns such as delays in processing payments for grain deliveries.
“We want to have a new GMB that is driven by a culture of excellence and performance from three perspectives of efficiency, resource stewardship and responsiveness.
“It has set out to swiftly implement the changes that address concerns and issues raised by stakeholders, some of which touch on late farmer payments, distance to the nearest depot while at the same time modelling itself on world-class standard operating procedures and processes,” he said.
“As part of its front-footed strategy to address late payments and low KYC (know your customer) queries, the GMB has introduced a new payment platform through Zimswitch-enabled Farmer Card System. The innovation brings banking to the farmers’ doorstep whilst getting instant payments for grain deliveries.
“The farmer card has no limit of deposits and can be used to purchase goods and services through a POS machine.”
GMB board chairperson Ms Joylyn Ndoro said the rebranding will promote various value chain players to improve agricultural production.
“The exercise proposes to build a positive image of the organisation that had been on the decline over the past years.
“The GMB brand had been associated with corruption and incompetence, thus inflicting damage to the organisation’s corporate identity. An experienced and dynamic management team is in place to steer the organisation to a new level.
“In line with the repositioning of the organisation, we are taking this opportunity to rebrand and properly identify ourselves with our role of “Assuring Food Security” in the agricultural sector,” she said.
