AGRICULTURE, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development minister Joseph Made has said government will allow players to continue importing breeding stock from South Africa to beef up the national herd, but warned that stringent measuers would be applied on imported breeding stock to curb the spread of diseases.
BY NQOBILE BHEBHE
Official data shows that Zimbabwe has a national cattle herd of 5,3 million down from nearly six million in 1996, prompting farmers to call for the government to provide funds to support the revival of the sector. Cattle diseases have also contributed to the decline in the beef sector.
However, Made said: “It does not matter whether it is a Jersey, Gants or Friesland — all we want is to revive the dairy sector. Zimbabwe can breed three times the current herd, according to our long-term assessment. Anything that helps resuscitate the sector is important.
“We will allow players to continue importing breeding stock from South Africa, but be very stringent in terms of this stock as we want top breeding animals.”
Made said with these measures, government would “expand the sector in a very big way”.
However, he warned against the continued importation of poultry-related products.
“I want the entrepreneur to take note: We cannot continue to import poultry meat products. The entrepreneur must move on with full knowledge that we are going to protect that sector in order to grow it.
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“In some areas, deboned meat has been used to make sausages, this is a poultry product. I also want to forewarn the public that we cannot import under the guise that there is no deboned machinery in the country,” the minister said.
The poultry industry recorded a 22% growth after producing 17 million broiler day-old chicks in the first quarter of 2015.
Growth in the second quarter was projected at between 10 and 15%.
