The Sunday News
Dumisani Nsingo/Roberta Katunga, Senior Farming Reporters
THE prices of cattle are continuously falling due to the prevailing liquidity crunch in the country, a situation which is threatening the viability and profitability of the agricultural enterprise.
Mangwe Farmers’ Association chairman, Mr Adam Bango-Dube said being a cattle farmer was now “discouraging and terrible” due to the plummeting prices of cattle.
The price of cattle has dropped to as low as $1 to $0,90 cents per kilogramme (kg) of live mass down from $3,00 or $2,50 per kg.
He said although the country was faced with a cash crisis there was need to reopen CC Sales and Agri Auctions in Bulawayo.
The two cattle auction sales were closed late last year at the instigation of the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development as one of the initiatives to control the spread of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and encouraged the opening of communal cattle sale pens.
“We are struggling because of low prices. We suspect that decentralisation of cattle auction sales is contributing to these low prices because buyers with more disposable income are not attending auctions at communal sale pens.
“Of course we are quite aware that decentralisation was made to curb the spread of FMD but there are always various measures that can be implemented to guard against the disease and we have open up the cattle auction in the City which is competitive and buyers bid with higher prices,” said Mr Dube.
However, others feel the decentralisation of cattle auction sales has culminated in increased economic activity in communal areas citing that centralised cattle auction sales mostly by CC Sales and Agric Auctions that were confined to Bulawayo only benefitted a few individuals involved in the beef sector at the expense of communal farmers who happen to be the biggest cattle producers.
Mr Bango-Dube said as a result of the low prices on the market most farmers are failing to realise meaningful returns from the sale of their animals.
“It takes about four to five years for cattle to mature and we are made to pay land levies of $5 per hectare and with the prevailing low prices we won’t recoup the money we will have invested in the upkeep of the animals.
“I think Government should come up with an enabling pricing model for livestock because at the moment farmers are being reaped off and yet the prices of beef haven’t really dropped,” he said.
A farmer from Matabeleland South Province in Insiza district, Mr Adolphous Dube said abattoirs are flooded with cattle as farmers are destocking due to drought hence supply was currently more than demand subsequently leading to lower prices.
He however, said farmers were suffering while retailers and butcheries were selling beef at high prices.
“The prices are bad and we cannot release our livestock for a song. Last year we could sell feeder steers for about $2 per kg or more and now it is half that price. As farmers we have decided not to feed any cattle but maintain them in good shape until the rainy season,” said Mr Dube.
Mr Dube said it was unsustainable for farmers to continue selling at a loss yet they are responsible for pen fattening the animals and vaccinating them.
“If you go into a butchery now, you will find super grade beef being sold for $7,20 per kg yet farmers get $3,20 per kg. We would rather wait for prices to increase. People cannot hide behind the liquidity crisis yet it’s only supposed to affect one part of the chain.
‘‘We acknowledge the cash shortages but farmers cannot be forced to bear all the costs while retailers get all the profits,” he said.
Another farmer from Matabeleland North reiterated that retailers were ripping off farmers and said it was only the communal farmers who are desperate for cash to pay school fees and meet other expenses who are still willing to sell their animals as commercial farmers have adopted a wait and see attitude.
“One way to survive in this situation is not to sell cattle as live weight but rather slaughter and take the carcasses to the market. The market has transformed itself and to survive as a business, it is better to transform as well,” said Mr Sifiso Sibanda.
