Quails
Business Reporter
LACK of market access is threatening the viability of quail bird breeding projects in Binga as there are no buyers in the district, an official has said.
The Zimbabwe Prison and Correctional Services (ZPCS), which is a major breeder of quails as part of skills development for inmates in Binga, is also affected.
Bothwell Bosha, the ZPCS Matabeleland North spokesperson, said he fears the organisation risks making losses from the vibrant project due to market failure.
“We’ve got 600 quail chicks, 224 birds and 400 eggs. We also have 1,146 quail eggs in the incubator and 39 guinea fowls, which will start laying eggs before the end of the year,” he said.
“The problem is that we don’t have a market. As a result we’re spending more on feeding the birds than we’re gaining from selling the birds and eggs.”
The standard market price for a day old quail chick is $1 while a crate of eggs is sold for $5. However, Bosha said they were prepared to lower the price to attract the market.
A prison officer in charge of the project in Binga said they started the project in February this year after ZPCS regional commanders visited Katombola Reformatory Prison in Zambia.
“There was a realisation that inmates should be taught survival skills after prison and quail breeding was one of them. We teach them how to breed quails from the start, that is incubation and breeding,” said the prison officer.
“Our problem now is the market. We’re overwhelmed with stock and we’ve no one to sell to. We’ve since scaled down on production for fear of losses and we would be happy to be linked to markets in urban areas.”
The prison officer said it takes a maximum of 18 days to incubate quail eggs and 42 days for a bird to mature.
“The whole quail breeding process is very fast and given a sound market this is a vibrant business,” said the prison officer.
He said ZPCS Binga started the project by building a foul run after receiving venture support in the form of eggs and an incubator from Katombola.
Quail breeding has become a topical enterprise in the country with scores of budding entrepreneurs embracing it.