Goat project for Mwenezi East
The Herald
Walter Mswazie Masvingo Correspondent
Mwenezi East parliamentarian Cde Joosbi Omar has launched a goat breeding project that is set to promote community development and livestock production initiatives for over 250 small-scale farmers. In an interview, Cde Omar said the project was among several that he has been rolling out to improve the income per capita at household level in line with President Mnangagwa’s vision to achieve a middle-income economy by 2030.
He said he had since imported Boer bucks from South Africa for cross-breeding.
The Boer goat is a breed of goat that was developed in South Africa in the early 1900s for meat production.
Their name is derived from the Afrikaans (Dutch) word boer, meaning farmer. Boer goats are a popular breed for meat.
“This project will improve livelihoods as each Boer goat will be given to families for breeding.
“We are targeting at least 250 families to enhance poverty alleviation and promote socio and economic development among the people of Mwenezi East, which is a predominantly drought-prone constituency,” he said.
Cde Omar assured the communities that once their goat population and breed has improved he would use his ties with the business community in Saudi Arabia to find a lucrative market there.
He said goat meat was in high demand in the oil-rich country.
“I know this will bear the much needed fruits and once the breed improves, we will expand to Mwenezi West. We have already ordered 20 female Boer goats to maintain onward breeding.
“Very soon, we will be able to export goat meat as a district and I call upon a quick buy-in from the communities so that we don’t let such an opportunity slip away. The market is readily available that we should not have any problem.
“The Boer goat can produce twins or triplets after mating with our local breeds. We have a potential to contribute immensely to the provincial GDP target of $5 billion by 2023, as Mwenezi district.”
The initiative comes a few weeks following the recent a goat-rearing project in Masvingo Province and a donation of 1 000 goats to orphanages by First Lady Amai Auxillia Mnangagwa.