Prosper Ndlovu, Business Editor
GOVERNMENT has concluded the process of formulating a Command Livestock financing model in which farmers will be given loans payable up to a period of five years, Acting President Emmerson Mnangagwa said yesterday.
About $150 million has been secured to bankroll the programme, which will cover restocking, equipment, pasture development and resuscitation of the Cold Storage Company (CSC).
In an interview on the sidelines of a tour of Arda Antelope Estate in Maphisa, Matobo District, Cde Mnangagwa said the programme would soon be rolled out across the country. “It’s not an event but a process. We announce these things so that the minds of people can move with us as we progress. We just finished the (financing) model last week,” he said.
“If you want to go into cattle breeding, the loan model begins from three to five years. But poultry has a different model in terms of financing period because it is short term. Goats and fisheries model also becomes different. But we announce these things in advance to prepare our people but as it rolls out this information will come through. Don’t worry that you are not seeing it walking on the streets, it will walk soon.”
Asked about perceived delays in the revival of CSC, the Acting President said a separate Cabinet team was dealing with the issue and would soon announce a direction.
He said: “In no time an announcement will be made. I know the announcement but I am not the one to make it. How CSC is going to be revived and what funds have been committed towards that purpose will be announced soon.”
Cabinet approved the Special Livestock Programme in June this year with the aim of improving productivity to ensure production of meat to satisfy local demand as well as the export market.
Apart from maize and livestock, Government has expanded the Command Agriculture Scheme to include other crops such as wheat and soya beans.
“The expansion of Command Agriculture to include other crops and livestock is clear testimony of Government’s commitment to supporting the agriculture sector and its value chain to stimulate economic development,” said the Acting President.