By Kenneth Matimaire

MUTARE ― Tanganda Tea Company, a Meikles subsidiary, is planning to venture into beef production and would approach government for land for cattle ranching.
Tanganda’s finance director, Henry Nemaire, said the diversification drive comes at a time when the sector is dominated by small-scale farmers. Nemaire said plans were underway to engage the Minister of Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement, Perrance Shiri. He said the proposal had initially been submitted to Shiri’s predecessor, Douglas Mombeshora.
“We want to resubmit it to the new Minister of Lands,” he said on the sidelines of a business meeting organised by the Minister of State for Manicaland Province, Monica Mutsvangwa.
Addressing the meeting, Nemaire said the interest in cattle farming was prompted by instability in the sector, where unscrupulous dealers and middlemen were ripping off both farmers and consumers.
“What has been happening is that in January when farmers need cash, dealers buy their animals at very low prices and resell them at much higher prices towards Christmas,” Nemaire added.
He said such unscrupulous tendencies were the cause of unjustified beef price increases.
Beef prices shot up by 100 percent from $4 in November 2017 to $8 the following month, causing a major outcry from consumers.
Government has been cautious in its approach to dealing with the increases, choosing engagement rather than price controls.
Nemaire said beef price stability can be guaranteed by the coming in of big players.
“Beef is mainly in the hands of the small farmers. Now we want to introduce the big players, like us. We want at least 12 500 hectares for our beef project. If we have institutional players in the sector, we can stabilise prices,” he said.
The planned project will add to an array of agricultural projects the tea producer is engaged in which ranges from avocado, coffee to macadamia farming.
Tanganda owns brands such as Tanganda Tea and bottled water, Tingamira.

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