Farming issues: Public private partnerships needed in livestock marketing

• Published date: 29 August 2016
• Publication title: The Sunday News

THERE has been commendable achievements by Government in the past few years with regards to public private partnerships in the agricultural sector.

The success has been very apparent and well documented in the crop production side of agriculture with three or so derelict Government estates resurrected with phenomenal impact on the community.

However, I have observed that the livestock side have been lukewarm with some activity around Maphaneni Ranch in Kezi.

This is also on the production side of the livestock value chain with almost no activity on the marketing end of the chain.

Livestock markets and marketing forms one large itchy point of the value chain which seriously needs scratching.

I therefore appeal to Government to take a conscious decision to engage in public private partnerships with specific thrust of addressing the marketing side of livestock production.

The same amount of zeal energy expended on crop production should be directed towards livestock production as well.

It is a public secret that the reason why there is so much attrition in livestock marketing is because of the bottle neck of the value chain which has a very broad base on the production side and a very narrow apex occupied by just a handful of players.

In simpler words there is not enough competition at the top to spur real value on farmers' animals.

This is the space which was previously occupied by Government through its giant enterprise, the Cold Storage Company and a huge vacuum was created at the demise of this important parastatal.

I therefore implore Government to seriously consider public private partnership on the livestock marketing side of things.

It has been documented on this very platform that the whole of Matabeleland North province has no abattoir and this could easily form an entry form of such a partnership.

Is it not possible for Government to expand the terms of the public private partnerships in such estates as Arda Jotsholo to include setting up of an...