The Sunday News
Dumisani Nsingo Senior Farming Reporter
THE country’s Livestock Policy, which is aimed at seeking to regulate the livestock sector and empower players in the industry, is awaiting approval by Cabinet, a senior official has said. Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Deputy Minister responsible for livestock production Paddy Zhanda said the draft livestock policy was an outcome of extensive consultations from all stakeholders in the industry.
“We submitted the document, it’s waiting for approval by Cabinet. It was an outcome of a very constructive consultative process. We consulted almost everybody and we had workshops and the outcome of that consultative process is what we submitted to Cabinet,” he said.
However, players in the agricultural sector feel the process of coming up with the Livestock Policy had taken a snail pace culminating in a number of irregularities affecting livestock producers.
The country has been operating without a Livestock Policy and only relied on a draft that was crafted in 1995. The draft has over the years been deemed ineffective by players in the industry.
Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union Matabeleland North Province chairman Mr Winston Babbage said there was a need to expedite the enactment of the Livestock Policy so as to improve productivity in the industry.
He said if the policy came into effect, it would assist farmers to positively exploit their animals particularly cattle, sheep and goats.
He said due to a lack of a Livestock Policy, parastatals such as CSC and the Pig Industry Board (PIB) had been run down and failed to drive the growth of the sector through offering various schemes aimed at cushioning and empowering producers.
Matabeleland Agriculture Business Chamber director Mr Gerald Bhebhe said the endorsement of a Minister responsible for livestock production had not made much contribution largely due to a lack of legislation to guide the industry.
He said most of the national budgetary allocation made towards agriculture was channelled to crop production with very little being forwarded to the livestock sector.
