Elita Chikwati Agriculture Reporter
Zimbabwe slaughtered 284 000 animals in 2014, a sharp decline from the 600 000 it used to slaughter when it was exporting beef. The country last exported its beef to the European Union in 2001 before the exports were suspended because of an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.

Cold Storage Company chief executive Mr Ngoni Chinogaramombe told the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Lands, Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation on Tuesday that there has been a decline in livestock production as a result of lack of capital.

He said the situation was made worse by the suspension of beef exports to the EU and other countries.

“Zimbabwe has not been exporting beef to Europe and this has affected production. When we were exporting to Europe we could attract funding,” he said.

“The country has slaughtered 97 000 cattle this year and only 5 600 have been slaughtered at CSC abattoirs,” he said.

Mr Chinogaramombe said the sector was also affected by the unavailability of long-term loans as the market only offered short-term loans which were expensive.

Government, through the Zim-Asset economic turnaround blueprint, is encouraging livestock farmers to add value to their products to maximise earnings. In January, Government imposed a penalty of $0,75 cents per kilogramme on raw exports of hides to encourage processing.

Mr Chinogaramombe said this has resulted in thousands of hides being processed before export, although there are still some leakages.

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union president Mr Wonder Chabikwa has advised farmers to invest in artificial insemination, a breeding technology to improve the quality of their livestock.

“It is expensive for most smallholder farmers to buy bulls for breeding, but they can improve the quality of their livestock through artificial insemination which is affordable,” he said.

Government is about to finalise the livestock policy document that would guide the livestock industry.