Mashudu Netsianda, Senior Reporter
LIVESTOCK farmers in Beitbridge District have set their eyes on establishing their own company to eliminate the middleman from the market and increase their stake in the value chain of animal rearing.

Through the envisaged project, the farmers hope to create value and wealth as well as generating employment.

They intend to establish goat and sheep focused value addition infrastructure in the district. However, with time, the company will be expanded to also include pigs and cattle.

In terms of infrastructure, the project will seek to establish abattoirs, canning facilities as well as infrastructure to process by-products.

The farmers intend to capitalise on the border town’s proximity to South Africa, Botswana and Mozambique to export their meat products.

The district shares international borders with Botswana to the west and South Africa to the south. However, although it does not directly share a border with Mozambique to the east, it lies in close proximity to that country.

Beitbridge District lies in the agricultural region five and is largely characterised by a low rainfall pattern and high temperatures in summer.

The district has been affected heavily by climate change related phenomenon with erratic rainfall patterns and prolonged droughts.

Beitbridge East Member of Parliament Cde Albert Nguluvhe, who is also one of the farmers in the district, said the idea was mooted following concerns over market dominance by middleman.

“The market is dominated by middleman who buy the animals at very low prices and then make huge profits in the market. We realised that this trend discouraged investment in animal husbandry by the farmers in the district,” he said.

Beitbridge’s main agricultural economic activity revolves around animal husbandry.

However, successive droughts have brought agony to farmers in the district where a lot of sentimental value is attached to livestock, particularly cattle.

Cde Nguluvhe said the first component of the value chain to be targeted are the slaughter facilities.

“If farmers develop their own abattoirs, they increase their stake in the value chain in that they will no longer have to sell their animals to a middleman who will then go and sell to abattoirs and meat traders such as butcheries and the food industries,” he said.

“By owning the slaughter facilities, the farmers do not only eliminate the middleman, but also free themselves from the oppressive tendencies of the big slaughter houses as they will have direct access to the meat traders thus adding value to their animals as they will be dealing with dressed weights instead of live animals.”

Cde Nguluvhe said the idea behind setting up a company is to bring together farmers who are committed to producing good animal breed and be able to build and manage slaughter facilities in the district.

Each of the farmers will own shares in the company in proportion to the number of animals that a farmer commits to sell to the slaughter per year.

Cde Nguluvhe said the creation of the company will create vast opportunities for farmers as they will be able to directly tap into foreign markets without the middleman.

He said the major stumbling block has been the unviable market conditions.

“We have close links with the adjacent areas across the borders making it easy to cultivate trade relations in the region. Since time immemorial, the communities in Beitbridge have always kept animals especially cattle, goats and sheep for ornamental reasons where a man’s status in society was defined by their number of animals,” he said.

“However, times have changed, and again the climate change has influenced the increase in aridity of the district and people have come to realise that animal rearing is an economic activity that can also improve their livelihoods and generate wealth.”

Cde Nguluvhe said although farmers would be having shares in the company, it will be run as a separate and independent entity with the farmers selling their animals to the slaughter facility and getting their money like any other trader.

“After trading in that meat, the company will pay dividends to the farmers in respect to the shares each farmer holds in the company. The farmer gets paid twice for the same animals he or she produces,” he said.

“However, with time we are looking at creating a value chain and process the meat into other products. The hides, offals, horns and hooves can also be processed into different products that can be marketed and create more value for the farmer.”

Cde Nguluvhe said although each farmer can produce his or her animals at their own space, coming together as a block is more effective, particularly when requiring technical and financial assistance.

“But more critical to this approach is that farmers will be able to control market forces. By moving up the value chain of the goat meat trade and forming a company that will develop, own infrastructure and trade in goat meat the farmers will control the market forces. They eliminate also the middle man and generate more wealth for themselves,” he said.

“It is easier for the company to identify and create markets for meat and meat products than individual farmers. In working to transform the value chain of animal farming in Beitbridge, there is a need to develop philosophies that will guide the communities in the district to work together to forge a bright future for themselves and generations to come.”

Cde Nguluvhe said they are in the process of mobilisation and recruitment of membership.-@mashnets