Commercial livestock farmers are advocating for the creation of a structured livestock finance facility to foster growth and development in the sector.
In an interview with <a href="https://businesstimes.co.zw/farmers-appeal-for-assistance/">Business Times</a> on the sidelines of the annual national agribusiness conference on Wednesday at the Zimbabwe Agricultural Show (ZAS) in Harare, Reneth Mano, CEO of the Livestock and Meat Advisory Council, emphasised the necessity for banks and the government to provide support to livestock farmers. Said Mano:
<blockquote>
…we work hand in hand with the government and we have been advocating for (financial support) on the livestock side, similar and parallel to what we do with the crop production side.
I think in Zimbabwe we know that the livestock industry, the production system plays a very important role in uplifting the livelihoods of two-thirds of the population in Zimbabwe who reside in areas that raise a lot of cattle and a lot of goats.
So, we have proposed that we need a properly structured livestock finance facility with co-financing coming from the banks and from the government.
</blockquote>
In Zimbabwe, crop farmers, including those growing tobacco and cotton, benefit from contract farming arrangements.
Meanwhile, subsistence farmers receive free inputs through the Presidential Input Scheme, which supports smallholder farmers across the country. Added Mano:
<blockquote>
We believe that the livestock industry by its very nature, any financing of growth and development, particularly focusing on multiplication of heifers making sure people have adequate capacity to breed enough animals.”
We believe that a properly structured (financial) facility for the livestock sector, with input coming from farmers themselves, coming from the players in the value chain, will have a very good chance of transforming the livestock sector and really anchoring the sector for growth in the export space.
</blockquote>
Earlier this month, a Zimbabwean cattle rancher, Collen Tafireyi, shattered cattle auction records at the Hurwitz Farming Production Auction held at the Bull Ring Auction House in Davel, Mpumalanga, South Africa, by buying a prized Boran Stud bull for a whopping R8 million (US$444 000).
Tafireyi is a Boran breeder at Sinyo Boran Stud in Hwedza, Mashonaland East Province.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

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Livestock farmers in Zimbabwe want a special money program to help them grow their businesses. The CEO of the Livestock and Meat Advisory Council says that farmers who raise cattle and goats need support like crop farmers do. They want banks and the government to give them money to help them buy more animals and improve their farms. This will help them sell more meat and other products to make more money. One farmer even spent a lot of money on a special bull to improve his cattle farm. Livestock farmers hope this new money program will help them grow and sell more in the future.

Livestock Farmers Call For Finance Facility To Boost Sector Growth

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 <a href="https://cite.org.zw/mdi-calls-for-clarity-on-centralised-cattle-auctions/">CITE</a>, MDI Chairman and Founder, Freeman Ncube, said the government should provide adequate information about the move. Said Ncube:
<blockquote>
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.
</blockquote>
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.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

The MDI wants the government to explain the new rules about selling cattle. The Ministry of Agriculture says all cattle must be sold at specific places, not in villages. This is to protect farmers from unfair buyers. But the MDI says people need more information about this change. The government should tell villagers how to sell their animals and what rules to follow. The Finance Minister removed a tax on selling live animals to help farmers. The MDI thinks people need more time to understand the new rules.

Matabeleland Development Initiative Calls For Clarity On Centralised Cattle Auctions

Farmers in Matabeleland have implored the Government to review its policy of destroying livestock driven into another zone without permits or proper clearance.
Some of the farmers who spoke to <a href="https://newsday.co.zw/southerneye/local/article/200023867/farmers-want-livestock-policy-reviewed">Southern Eye</a> said the policy is too harsh and retrogressive.
Nkayi Community Parliament deputy speaker and communal farmer, Nkosilathi Ncube, said cattle should only be destroyed if they are diseased. Said Ncube:
<blockquote>
I am against the killing of animals but I suggest the government must impound the animals and if it’s the owner, they can fine the owner and give them back their animals.
If it’s an unknown person the cattle must be forfeited to the state. Unless they have some disease, then they can be quarantined or destroyed.
We must use the local Neighbourhood Watch committee members to assist in the clearing of cattle and put in place community policing forums to ensure that the cattle that are transported are properly cleared and those who are caught stealing cattle must face the mandatory jail term.
</blockquote>
Matabeleland South farmer and Kirton Farmers Association chairperson, Moketsi Basuthu, said:
<blockquote>
The modus operandi of getting a vet permit and stock clearance from the police needs to be better oiled so that farmers don’t struggle when they have to move their livestock.
</blockquote>
Destruction of livestock to farmers naturally speaks to loss of livelihood.
<blockquote>
Again, we don’t expect a farmer who has his livelihood at heart and that of his fellow farming community to will-nilly move their stock without requisite authority.
The Fencing Provisions Act is poorly enforced, yet it should be there to augment the Disease Management and Livestock Movement Act.
</blockquote>
Another farmer from Matabeleland South Province Ben Moyo, however, expressed his support for the policy of destroying impounded livestock. He said:
<blockquote>
People need clearance to move cattle. We simply have to follow the law which will enable our animals to be healthy and as farmers, we can make more money from them.
If our cattle for example were to stray into Botswana, because cattle are big business in Botswana they will shoot them.
</blockquote>
On 24 February, the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, and Rural Development issued a notice calling on farmers to desist from illegally moving livestock without proper documentation.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

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