The Matabeleland Development Initiative (MDI) has urged the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development to increase awareness among villagers and rural farmers about its proposed cattle auction centres.
This comes after the Ministry of Agriculture announced a ban on household and village-level cattle sales last month, stating that all cattle must be sold at ward-based cattle sales
Speaking in Parliament last week, the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement, Anxious Masuka, said that this move is intended to protect farmers from unscrupulous buyers who exploit their desperation to purchase livestock at very low prices.
Responding to questions from CITE, MDI Chairman and Founder, Freeman Ncube, said the government should provide adequate information about the move. Said Ncube:
Although we are concerned that not enough information regarding the sale of livestock was disclosed to villagers or rural folk to understand the processes of selling their livestock, including how they will be taxed and the movement of livestock.
There is a lot of confusion regarding all this, and we believe that there was not enough time to educate people about the selling of livestock and the processes involved.
Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister, Mthuli Ncube, recently scrapped the 15 per cent value-added tax (VAT) on live animal sales, a move that was welcomed by farmers.
Presenting the 2024 mid-term budget policy review last week, Ncube proposed the exemption of VAT on the sale of live animals to restore demand for meat while at the same time promoting formal trade in the livestock sector.
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