Farmers appeal for assistance

CLOUDINE MATOLA

Commercial livestock farmers are pleading with the government for financial support to promote the growth and development of the sector, Business Times can report.

This was revealed by Livestock and Meat Advisory Council CEO, Reneth Mano, who spoke to Business Times, a market leader in business, finance and economic reportages, on the sidelines of the annual national agribusiness conference  held yesterday at the Zimbabwe Agricultural Show (ZAS) in the capital Harare.

According to him, the livestock industry plays a crucial role in uplifting the livelihoods of the people in the country.

“…we work hand in hand with the government and we have been advocating for (financial support) on the livestock side, similar and parallel to what we do with the crop production side.

“I think in Zimbabwe we know that the livestock industry, the production system plays a very important role in uplifting the livelihoods of two-thirds of the population in Zimbabwe who reside in areas that raise a lot of cattle and a lot of goats.

“So, we have proposed that we need a properly structured livestock finance facility with co-financing coming from the banks and from the government,” Mano said.

He added: “We believe that the livestock industry by its very nature, any financing of growth and development, particularly focusing on multiplication of heifers making sure people have adequate capacity to breed enough animals.”

“We believe that a properly structured (financial) facility for the livestock sector, with input coming from farmers themselves, coming from the players in the value chain, will have a very good chance of transforming the livestock sector and really anchoring the sector for growth in the export space.”