Constraint to the Competitiveness of Livestock Production

Policies or Lack of Policies that Cause Constraint

Suggested Reforms Required to Upscale Livestock Production

Inability of farmers to access affordable credit Finance to upscale Livestock Production.

Lack of Coherent and Consistent Investment Policies to attract Foreign Direct Investment into the Sector and reduce perceived country risk.

Create a sound and consistent Investment Policy and Bring all other policies in line with this.

Weak Land Tenure Rights. Two problems:

1. Financier lacks confidence in longer term capital investments e.g. dairy parlors, poultry houses, stock dams, pig units etc

2. Use of Land and Immoveable Rural Assets as collateral is not possible.

Enhance secure Land Tenure. Finalize the 99 Year Lease enabling the creation of a market for Agricultural Land.

Fragmented regulations and regulatory gaps in market linked credit schemes

Develop Policy to streamline an effective market linked credit facility (e.g. stop order systems, contract farming feed lots, out grower schemes, collateralizing livestock etc)

Slow development and Deterioration of Rural Transport Infrastructure both rail and road.

Lack of National Road and Rail Development Policies

Develop policy that ensures investment into large infrastructure projects by Private Public Partnerships (PPP) or Build Own Operate Transfer (BOOT) arrangements.

Lack of policy to ensure resourcing, accountability and proper service delivery by Rural District Councils

Develop and Implement policy to ensure accountability and proper service delivery by Rural District Councils particularly in respect of road development and maintenance,

Under performance and Investment in the National Railways of Zimbabwe

Privatize National Railways of Zimbabwe

Local underproduction Of Maize and Soya Beans and high costs of doing business on the part of livestock feed manufacturers makes cost of stock feeds high.

Lack of Policy to Increase Local Production of Maize and Soya Beans

Develop and Implement Policy to Increase Local Production of Maize and Soya Beans

Cost of compliance and time to secure import permits for stock feed raw materials

With due regard to the need to increase production of soay beans and maize locally there is need to reduce the red tape to make it easier and cheaper to import raw materials for stock feeds.

High Cost of compliance AMA Levies, EMA Levies on running generators.

Reduce AMA Levies and reduce EMA fees.

Poor quality livestock feeds are on the market

Weak regulation of stock feed quality

Develop a policy to ensure Good Standards of Stock feeds

Erratic and Expensive Electricity Supply

Lack of policy encouraging substantial investment in local Electricity generation infrastructure.

Develop and implement policy encouraging substantial investment in local Electricity generation infrastructure on BOOT or other similar arrangements.

Lack of policy or implementation of policy  promoting renewable energy sources for farmers.

Promote alternative and appropriate renewable energy sources for farmers.

Smuggling of Poor quality Meat and other animal by-product Imports which undermine any protection measures (surtaxes) put in place by Government.

Lack of policy to tackle Corruption and Porous boarders.

Develop and implement policy to tackle Corruption and Porous boarders.

Increased incidents of veldt fires resulting in destruction of pasture “the man made droughts”

Environmental Management Agency (EMA) enforcement weak and penalties for starting veldt fires not stringent enough.

Increase EMA presence on the Ground.

Increase fine for starting veldt fires.

Increase fine for not maintaining proper fire guards.

EMA must train farmers on the importance of fire breaks and how to handle veldt fires.

Inability to access affordable and up to date animal medication.

New drugs are very expensive to register.

Make it easier and cheaper to register new animal drugs.

Skills Deficit amongst all Livestock Producers

Lack of policy to ensure adequate training and extension of all classes of Livestock producers

Develop and implement  Extension and Training policies and protocols to improve management standards. Involve Private sector in improving standards of management particularly through contract feedlots and small, medium and large scale out grower schemes

Constraint to the Competitiveness of Beef Production

Policies or Lack of Policies that Cause Constraint

Suggested Reforms to Policy and Regulatory Environment Required to Upscale Beef Production

High Cost of Compliance with Regulations for both cattle producers and Abattoirs

Rural District Council Levies in Region IV and V

Reduce RDC Levies and Rates in line with the region

Cost of securing Cattle movement Permits.

Develop a cost effective systems to make cattle movement traceable, secure and easy

RDC Cattle Sale Levies.

Scrap RDC Cattle Sale Levies except when sold at RDC Cattle sale facilities.

AMA Levies.

Reduce AMA Levies

Numerous agencies and duplication or partial duplication of roles e.g EMA Licenses and environmental safety Standards, AMA Levies, NSSA Environmental Safety Standards, Vet Department Registration of Abattoirs.

Stream line and simplify regulation of the Beef Industry.

Increase in the spread of various diseases into previously disease free areas

Weak regulation of the indiscriminate movement of cattle.

Improve regulation of cattle movement viz a viz the spread of disease.

Competition with Imported Live Animals

Government to Government deal with Botswana

Review arrangement to give preference to locally produced cattle.

Loss of Fencing requiring extra Labour and stress of cattle reducing production

Weak enforcement of Fencing requirements. Insufficient penalties for theft and destruction of Cattle fencing.

Formulate policy to protect and increase fencing.

Increase penalties for theft and destruction of Cattle Fencing

Constraint to the Competitiveness of Poultry Production

Policies or Lack of Policies that Cause Constraint

Suggested Reforms to Policy and Regulatory Environment Required to Upscale Poultry Production

High Cost of Day Old chicks

High cost of compliance for fertile egg imports

Review policy on importation of fertile eggs to reduce costs

Diseases like Newcastle’s (NCD) and Avian influenza are a threat to production

Lack of comprehensive response to these diseases.

Develop a policy to tackle these diseases:

-Expand vaccination of NCD

-Develop bio safety protocols to be adopted by all poultry producers

-Strict controls on boarders to reduce the risk of importing avian influenza

High cost of compliance with regulations  within the value chain

Red tape and Multiple agencies, Many different levies etc. 

Stream the regulation of the poultry industry with a view to minimizing cost of compliance

Poor linkages to poultry abattoirs and markets

Lack of policy to promote Market linkages

Develop policy to promote market linkages, consumption of locally produced poultry products and investment into small scale poultry processing.

Constraint to the Competitiveness of Crocodile Production

Policies or Lack of Policies that Cause Constraint

Suggested Reforms to Policy and Regulatory Environment Required to Upscale Crocodile Production

High Cost of Compliance with Regulations

Multiple agencies and multiple levies. Three main issues:

1. Regionally uncompetitive National Parks Fees for egg collection

2. CITES levies on exports too high

3. High AMA registration Fees and a Duplication of roles between AMA and National Parks

Streamline regulations as they relate to the crocodile industry 1. reduce Egg collection fees in line with the regional charges Zambia Mozambique

2. Reduce CITES Levy to 1%

3. Ensure the roles of AMA and National Parks are not duplicated and reduce AMA fees.

Constraint to the Competitiveness of Pork Production

Policies or Lack of Policies that Cause Constraint

Suggested Reforms Required to Suggested Reforms to Policy and Regulatory Environment Required to Upscale Pork Production

High Cost of Compliance with Regulations throughout the value chain

Duplicity of roles amongst various agencies, multiple high cost levies. AMA, EMA

High cost of African Swine Fever Certificate

High Cost of movement permits

Streamline the regulation of Pork value chains with a view to reducing the cost of compliance in order to increase competitiveness:

1. Reduce levies.

2. Reduce cost of Swine Fever Certificate

3. Increase efficiency and reduce cost of movement certificates

Poor quality and non availability of breeding stock

Lack of policy to promote access to world class genetics in Zimbabwe’s pig industry

Develop policy to promote access to world class genetics in Zimbabwe’s pig industry

Non availability and inappropriate packaging of drugs and vaccines

Expensive to import and register new drugs and vaccines

Reduce cost of importation and registration of new drugs and vaccines

Importation of Pig Bones from countries with High disease loads

Weak regulation of importation of pig bones

Develop importation protocols that protect Zimbabwe’s pork industry from the risk of disease spread from foreign destinations

Risk of spread of disease

Lack of Bio safety standards and protocols amongst small scale pig producers

Develop Bio safety standards and protocols for producers

Low sales of Pork meat

Lack of policy to promote the popularity of pork and the value addition of pork

Develop policy to promote the popularity of pork and the value addition of pork

Constraint to the Competitiveness of Small Livestock Production

Policies or Lack of Policies that Cause Constraint

Suggested Reforms to Policy and Regulatory Environment Required to Upscale Small Livestock Production

Lack of Small ruminants housing designs

Lack of policy disseminating information on Minimum standards for small ruminant housing

Develop policy disseminating information on Minimum standards for low cost small ruminant housing

Lack of market information

Lack of policy to upscale the availability of market information on small livestock

Develop policy to upscale the availability of market information on small livestock

High Processing Costs

Low output increases processing costs.

Develop policy that seeks to increase the output of small livestock.

Lack of small ruminant Nutrition

Lack of policy to plant high protein fodder trees

Develop policy to plant high protein fodder trees

Constraint to the Competitiveness of Dairy Production

Policies or Lack of Policies that Cause Constraint

Suggested Reforms to Policy and Regulatory Environment Required to Upscale Dairy Production

Lack of Artificial Insemination Centers

Lack of Policy to capacitate AI technology

Build AI capacity

Declining output of Silage

Lack of policy to promote the importance of silage and the production of silage.

Allow Dairy Farmers to access land for the production of silage.

Promote the Production of Silage

Under Investment in cheap high protein fodder trees

Lack of mainstreaming of cheap high protein fodder trees

Encourage the planting of high protein fodder trees

Contagious Abortion

Lack of National Policy or implementation of National Policy to eradicate Contagious abortion

Develop policy to eradicate Contagious abortion

High Costs of Compliance

High EMA fees on Dairy parlor effluent discharge

Reduce fees

Too much red tape overlapping responsibilities AMA, Animal Health, Ministry of Health etc

Streamline and simplify regulation of the Dairy Industry