TINASHE MAKICHI
State-owned lender Agribank says its livestock facility worth ZWL$6m has been fully subscribed as the country moves aggressively towards restocking the national herd depleted due to lack of funding and high mortality owing to various diseases.
The lender’s acting chief executive officer, Elfas Chimbera, said the facility has a tenure of between three and five years.
“On livestock, we had a ZWL$6m facility which we got and was fully subscribed,” Chimbera told Business Times.
The intervention by Agribank came at a time when the national beef cattle herd for the year 2019 declined 6% to 5 443 770 cattle from 5 774 525 cattle in 2018, according to the Second Round Crop and Livestock Assessment 2019/2020 Season Report.
The decline in the herd was due to an increased national cattle mortality rate of 9% in 2019 from 5% in 2018.
Dipping during the period was generally inadequate at the time of the second round livestock assessment as a result of insufficient supplies of dipping chemicals.
However, the report further noted that water for livestock is available in most districts, but shortages are expected in the traditionally dry parts of Midlands and the southern provinces before the next rainy season.
According to the report, the open market and abattoirs are the major market types for live cattle, sheep and goat sales where regulated livestock markets, which offer better returns, are mainly limited to Masvingo and Matabeleland provinces.
The number of beef cattle slaughtered at registered abattoirs decreased 12% to 235 018 in 2019 from 266 220 in 2018.
The average national off-take rate for cattle is 6% whilst off take for sheep and goats is 9% and 11% respectively, against an expected target of 15%.
While there are about 150 licensed livestock abattoirs in the country with a combined commercial slaughter capacity of over 500 000 cattle per year, there is also shortage of beef cattle due to lack of funding.
The country slaughters about 270 000 cattle for the commercial beef market every year.
Chimbera said Agribank has also been instrumental in the funding of dairy farmers on a one-to-one bank-customer relationship.
“Any funding we have done toward dairy has been on a one to one bank customer relationship like any other farmer,” Chimbera said.
The government has approved the restructuring of Agribank into a land bank.
According to Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Resettlement Minister, Anxious Masuka, the restructuring of the lender is expected to be completed this month.
Once complete, the restructuring exercise will entail that the bank would be able to provide investment support to A1, A2, and small-scale commercial farmers who have not been supported by commercial banks.
The new bank will be called the Land and Agricultural Development Bank of Zimbabwe.
