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Sikhulekelani Moyo, [email protected]

THE introduction of direct meat marketing by the Zimbabwe Agricultural Growth Programme (ZAGP) Value Chain Alliance for Livestock Upgrading and Empowerment (Value) project is paying dividends with 56 tonnes of goat meat sold via direct meat marketing since 2019.

The farmers are delivering meat through direct marketing to licensed independent butcheries in Harare and Bulawayo, officials said.

Last week, the Binga Goat Association delivered and slaughtered 59 goats in Bulawayo for sale.

The ZAGP Value project is part of the EU-funded Zimbabwe Agricultural Growth Programme (ZAGP) that was launched in Zimbabwe in June 2019.

The initiative seeks to boost beef, dairy, pig, goat, and poultry production and works closely with the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate, and Rural Resettlement to co-ordinate market-oriented education and extension services across the five value chains.

The project is working with over 10 000 goat farmers in twelve districts across six provinces with Matabeleland included, to improve production, productivity, organisational efficiencies, and market competitiveness.

While addressing market constraints there are deliberate efforts to increase efficiencies at the production level through the promotion of good animal husbandry practices such as dipping, vaccination and supplementary feeding.

Last year, via a marketing route, a total of 38 358kgs of goat meat were sold to 43 butcheries in Harare and Bulawayo by 883 farmers, generating revenue of over US$130 000.

Value project team leader, Mr Newton Chari said direct meat marketing has benefited farmers as they now have direct access to end markets other than traditional sales via intermediaries.

“The direct meat market has also built farmer organisational capacities through promoting collective action in aggregation, transport hire, securing permit and movement clearances thereby lowering the cost of doing business per farmer as the costs are shared.

“Importantly from baseline, it was identified that farmers in their independent capacities were not able to supply the market needs and there was minimum to no formal supply of goat meat in consumer’s markets,” said Mr Chari.

“Through the direct meat market, farmers can collectively supply the meat, increasing market supply. Farmers then get to sell at wholesale prices other than the farm gate price.”

He indicated that a total of 4 453 goats from 1 193 farmers produced a total of 56 tonnes which was sold to 64 butcheries in Harare and Bulawayo urban markets.

Last year, a US$87 million Presidential Goat Scheme was launched as the country seeks to build a strong goat production and marketing system.

The goat scheme, which will see the national herd jumping from 4,3 million to six million by 2025, will also unlock vast export opportunities for farmers.

The Presidential Goat Scheme is targeting more than 600 000 farmers nationwide and seeks to ensure food security and empower communities across the country.

The scheme is among a raft of measures launched by the Second Republic in crop and livestock sectors to rapidly build the output and capacity of small-scale sectors and ensure the overwhelming majority of rural households are able to enter the commercial sector. —@SikhulekelaniM1