Zimpapers Logo

Thupeyo Muleya, Beitbridge Bureau
Livestock farmers have urged Government to consider drafting a policy to commercialise ranching nationwide so that farmers get value for their animals and are able to trade fairly on the markets.

According to farmers, when there is a policy in place, livestock is graded before going to the markets and sold under set down floor prices, like what happens with tobacco sales.

In an interview, National Institution of Livestock Farmers Union chairperson, Mr Sifiso Sibanda said the current state of affairs in the sector is worrisome.

“We have challenges in that we don’t have a livestock policy in this country. For instance, any animal can be slaughtered whether it is heavily pregnant or in calf and this is bad,” he said.

“Due to the lack of policy, when it comes to marketing of livestock, there is no clear system. You will find that the auctioneer, is the buyer, and the abattoir operator who also runs a chain of butcheries. Given such a scenario, you can’t have a fair game of trade.”

Mr Sibanda said Government should engage farmers and agree on ground rules and the structure of the envisaged livestock policy. He said the policy should be clear concerning the trade of pigs, goats, sheep, and cattle among other livestock. The general view among farmers, he said was that animals are supposed to be graded before they are sold.

“That grading system should be done by Government officials, so that every farmer takes their livestock to the auction, fully aware of the grades, and the ground rules,” said Mr Sibanda.

“In fact, there must be a floor price for each grade just like what is happening with tobacco. With respect to cattle, the super, choice, ration grades should all be sold at different prices. At the moment, there are three major companies in this country that are running the livestock market. This is very wrong. These are the same guys who buy communal livestock and yet in their feedlots, they will be having thousands of animals.”

He continued: “So somebody who has over 2 000 animals can supply the markets for six months without replenishing their stock. What kind of price can you expect to get from that person? They will give you peanuts.”

Mr Sibanda said the availability of a livestock policy will end the misery faced by most livestock farmers across the country. He said at the moment, people just look at the livestock and attach a price, a setup that has seen most farmers being short-changed by bigger players. The official said Government should seriously look into the quota system which was tilted to benefit those with abattoirs at the expense of the farmers.

“When your animal is slaughtered at the abattoir, you leave the offals, hooves, heads and hides which are classified as the fifth quota. This is not working for us,” said Mr Sibanda.

He said as a result of the current status quo, smallholder farmers were unable to vaccinate livestock or buy stock feeds for other animals, because they are not getting any value on the markets. A livestock farmer in Ward 14 Beitbridge, Mr Gift Mbedzi said the introduction of feedlots to save animals from poverty deaths was welcome and that should be done fairly to benefit the communal farmers.

“It’s a good initiative, but it needs some re-adjustments if it is to benefit ordinary farmers who should be seen as suppliers of cattle,” he said. “Our system is very different from other countries. For instance, if we look at South Africa, our feedlotters seem to prefer mature oxen while in SA feedlots weaners are the best performers. As things stand, my view is the current system leaves the farmer with more inputs costs and fewer returns” He urged the local feedlotters to consider buying weaners as long as they meet the standard weaning weights. This, he said, will create a shorter business cycle for farmers, considering that currently, for one to get good returns on their investment, they must sell steers of three and half years and above.

“This means for an emerging farmer you must have more start-up capital to cover inputs costs before you can enter the market But with weaners, a farmer can be able to get quick return on investment since it takes only 7-9 months to raise weaners,” said Mr Mbedzi. -@tupeyo