Command Livestock for all: VP

Command Livestock recently unveiled in Matabeleland North Province will soon spread across the country as the Government seeks to rebuild the economy, Vice President Constantino Chiwenga has said.

He said Government will identify land for Command Livestock production.

VP Chiwenga said this on Tuesday during a field day at Green Valley Estate in Chakari near Kadoma, Mashonaland West province.

“Those forests that are not arable we will put animals for rearing. People should rear animals. We gave livestock to Matabeleland North province but it is not only that province that will benefit but all areas. A1 farmers can get three or four cows while A2 can get as much as 10 cows to be paid for in five years. Farmers will retain the calves and return the cows that they would have been loaned,” said VP Chiwenga.

He said the same would be done on Command Fisheries where Government would fund farmers keen to go into those programmes.

“We now want to resume beef exports to Europe. To that end we will revive the Cold Storage Company in several towns like Chinhoyi and Kadoma among other areas,” he said.

He said artisanal miners in the area would receive Government support so that they can conduct operations orderly and enhance revenue inflows.

VP Chiwenga implored them to sell their gold to Fidelity Printers.

“They are no longer called makorokoza. We no longer have makorokoza but artisanal miners or small-scale miners,” said VP Chiwenga.

He said there was need to establish service centres near farming areas to stimulate value addition of farm produce.

“We will establish service centres for value addition of products like wheat and set up all the value chain at one place. We now want development-oriented slogans and not political slogans. Slogans aimed at rebuilding the country. For that to be achieved let us be united and be one. We are all Zimbabweans regardless of other differences such as colour or creed,” he said.

He said a farmer should be subsidised in getting inputs and these should be delivered on time.

He said the $390 per tonne producer price paid to farmers for grain was unique in the region as no country was paying farmers that kind of money.

“We want to find out what are the challenges facing our farmers. A farmer should be subsidised on inputs that he puts in his farm.

“If we are to say we want to give you $390 per tonne, yet that amount is not the price being given in the region, we are doing that because inputs are expensive,” he said.