Scramble for day-old chicks, eggs
The outbreak of the avian virus has inconvenienced a lot of people who are into the chicken business
Tatenda Charamba & Runyarararo Muzavazi
Many Zimbabweans have a deep affection for chicken. A while back, the privilege of having chicken at the dinner table was reserved for special occasion such as Christmas, Easter or when a special visitor came by.
Today the situation has changed with a number of people able to have a chicken as part of their diet quite often. At family level, chicken dishes have also found themselves at festive events like birthdays and weddings.
The love for chicken has even resulted in the mushrooming of chicken meals in major fast food chains and also in smaller food outlets especially in central business districts (CBDs).
With the demand for chicken quite high there has also been a growth of chicken farmers particularly in the small scale sector.
Unfortunately, the outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N8 avian flu virus in Zimbabwe recently poultry has had detrimental effects on chicken farmers and all those who depend on chicken projects.
There has been an immense shortage of eggs and day old chicks and this has created a distress in the field of chicken rearing.
One of the participants in the chicken rearing project, Mr Nelson Manyawu of Harare bemoaned the outbreak of this virus in Zimbabwe because it had been an inconvenience to a lot of people.
“The shortage of day old chicks is clearly a result of the avian virus. There has been an extensive cut in the business since we started experiencing a shortage in the supply of day old chicks,” he said.
“The downstream effect has also been the loss of employment for some as chicken projects are labour intensive due to the need of constant manpower.
“People involved in all the processes of chicken rearing have lost their jobs as this prevailing situation has left many with nothing to do.
“Those who sell and need manure are also affected greatly because the chickens that are availed cannot produce enough manure for sale.
Chicken projects are fast income generating projects as these birds only need about one and a half months to reach full maturity and be ready for sale.
The turnover period is thus much shorter than other agricultural projects particularly those that involve planting of crops and nurturing them till they are ready to be sold.
Another reason why this project is favoured by the general populace is its easy accessibility to the market. People will always be ready to buy chickens.
Mr Manyawu also stressed that some are even taking advantage of this by maximising their profits through overpricing and bribes.
“People who have access to what we need as inputs to our projects are abusing their powers. Everything that is needed, be it the feeds or the chickens, has suddenly become expensive. People who produce feeds are cashing in by pushing their old stock at relatively high prices
“One cannot access the day old chicks easily without paying a bribe,” he said.
Mr Manyawu also highlighted how people in this project have suffered great financial losses.
“A lot of people are not registered for these projects and have been conducting them off loans. They were expecting to pay back their loans after selling their chickens but unfortunately they have not had access to chickens.
“They still need to pay back the money so they have to find other means of getting the money.
“Others were stocking up on chicken feed in anticipation of a constant supply of chicken.
“These feeds have best before dates and once the day passes without it being consumed, it would have lost value,” said Mr Manyawu.
He added that there has been a serious mistrust on the market due to the spread of the avian virus.
People are not sure if the chickens at disposal have been infected by the virus or not.
Anna Mutizwa (62) who rears chicken for a living bemoaned the shortage of day old chicks and eggs.
“Since the outbreak of avian flu that affected chickens, my business has gone down such that it’s difficult for me to continue since the prices of the available day old chicks is unaffordable,” she said.
The shortage of day old chicks in the country has robbed many individuals of their income generating sources.
“I live by selling eggs and chickens; now that the outbreak hit big players like Irvine’s, prices of chicks are going up to a level where profit making is impossible.
“It has become difficult for me to put food on my table or even sending my grandchildren to school.
“The business brought in huge sums because I sold eggs, chickens and chicken manure. As old as I am that was the only kind of work I could do,” she added
Mrs Mutizwa said the shortage of these chicks has resulted in loss of employment for many in her area.
“I had two girls who used to help me rear my chickens that I recently dismissed because I can’t afford to pay them anymore. I hope Government acts quickly in finding a way forward and controlling the outbreak from causing further damages to livelihoods,” she said.
Another poultry dependant, Johannes Nkomo who owns a canteen cried foul over the decrease in his profit margin since reports of the outbreak of avian flu were heralded.
“I have chicken and egg dishes on my menu. Since people heard of the outbreak mistrust grew amongst my customers as they think I’m preparing dishes using infected chickens.
“I have been making huge losses because I prepare food which people do not buy. The price of the chickens has also escalated because of the shortage of day old chicks. Business is dwindling because I cannot increase my prices,” said Mr Nkomo.
It seems the future looks bleak for those who earn a living from poultry farming.
“I am losing hope on my business because my customers no longer trust me since I’m a small scale business man. I now have to look for other types of meats to use as alternatives for the time being since I have lost my customers.”
Raising chickens remains an important part in sustaining families as it brings about economic benefits.
This problem cause by avian flu has gone national as evidenced through statements by the Manicaland Federation of Young Farmers coordinator, Mr Farai Mapfumo, who said business was badly affected by inadequate supply of day old chicks.
“We can confirm that there is an acute shortage of day old chicks as a result of avian influenza that has also affected the largest poultry distributor, Irvine’s.
“Poultry farmers have been greatly affected because they are not getting the supplies on time,” said Mr Mapfumo.
Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union president, Mr Wonder Chabikwa feared that the shortage of day old chicks would result in the smuggling of chickens into the country.
“Irvine’s as the largest supplier of day old chicks having been affected by avian influenza means there is critical shortage of day old chickens as well as eggs.
“Before it hit them they were able to meet the consumption level of the nation but with this current situation some will end up smuggling in chicken products that might be infected.
“Poultry farmers will be greatly affected in terms of their business because the buyers will not be sure if their products are infected or not. Moreover, consumers especially those who eat white meat for health reasons are suffering as they find it difficult to come up with alternatives,” he said.
While it is unclear as to when this shortage would be resolved, Livestock and Veterinary Services Department principal director Dr Unesu Ushewokunze-Obatolu said an impact assessment would commence soon.
“We have a study going to start next week on impact assessment,” said Dr Obatolu.
Both chicken farmers and consumers of chicken product will anxiously wait for the results of that assessment yearning for the day when for the farmer profits can return to their pocket and for the consumer, chicken to their dinner table.