The Sunday News
Dumisani Nsingo, Senior Farming Reporter
MR Mkhulunyelwa Nkomo (58) is possibly one of the few communal farmers in the livestock rich Matabeleland region who has successfully managed to realise the value of turning livestock production into a business.
He reckons that livestock farming, especially cattle rearing, has been passed from one generation to another along the family’s lineage, with him inheriting the practice from his father.
“I inherited the passion for livestock rearing from my father. He used to own a large herd of cattle although during those times animals were most kept for sentimental value than for commercial purposes,” said Mr Nkomo.
While land use by most villagers in Haygrange Village in Mangwe District, Matabeleland South Province is pastoralism, farmers have over the years failed to realise any meaningful returns from selling their livestock, especially cattle, culminating in them faltering in their efforts to improve their livelihoods.
In 2006, it finally dawned on Mr Nkomo that the panacea to realising potential value from cattle lay solely on improving the animals’ quality.
“In 2006 I bought a substantial number of cattle but I lost 11 of them on the rangeland and after such a huge loss I decided to confine my animals to their pens while feeding them with stock feed and seldom letting them to go to the communal grazing lands. This was how I started pen fattening, only to find out that it was a lucrative venture upon realising better grades at cattle auctions and abattoirs,” said Mr Nkomo.
Feedlotting (also called pen fattening) involves the feeding of beef cattle with a protein balanced, high-energy diet for a period of 70 to 120 days under confinement to increase live weights and improve degree of finish and thus obtain better grades at the abattoir.
“Pen fattening enables the animals to express fully their genetic potential for growth. Feeding cattle also ensures the animal to obtain the right amount of fat on and in the muscle, and a higher carcass mass, which it won’t get when left to graze on rangelands where it will use most of its energy moving and its muscles becoming tense. Through pen fattening I have over the years managed to turn an economy grade animal to super or even choice depending on the age of the beast,” said Mr Nkomo.
Beef prices normally change with season and higher prices are realised for good grades during the dry season when most animals are in a deteriorating condition. The choice of reconditioning and adding some weight of the animal during a short period normally pays off when done properly.
Apart from improving his agricultural enterprise, Mr Nkomo took it upon himself to improve the quality of cattle in his village through introducing genetic improved bulls so as to guard against inbreeding, which has been highly attributed for impacting negatively on the country’s cattle production.
“One day I became incensed when one of my cows was mating with a stunted bull and this prompted me to encourage other villagers to castrate all their poor bulls and I introduced high genetic improved Brahman bulls to service cows for the entire village and this has played a big part in improving the quality of our cattle. I have also introduced the high genetic improved bulls in areas where I buy most of my cattle from and these are mainly Brunapeg and Tokwana. Inbreeding is rampant in communal areas and such farmers are failing to realise value from the selling of their animals,” he said.
Mr Nkomo has close to 600 cattle of which 200 are kept at feedlots at his homestead at any given time while waiting to be sold are found at his cattle auction sale pens, Mainline Sale Pen, which he constructed to facilitate a lucrative market for villagers to sell their animals.
He, however, slaughters most of the animals and sells them at his Mainline Butchery in Plumtree Town.
“At the moment the demand for beef is very low largely due to low disposable income among people. During the peak season we usually slaughter 12 to 14 beasts per day but we have experienced a significant drop as we are now slaughtering four or five beasts a day,” said Mr Nkomo.
He has to contend with leasing farms within Mangwe and Bulilima districts to accommodate the rest of his herd.
Mr Nkomo is one typical example of productive farmers who did not benefit from the Government’s land reform programme while a number of beneficiaries are still failing to productively utilise the resource.
“Unfortunately I didn’t benefit under the Land Reform programme thus I have to lease pieces of land from other farmers to accommodate my cattle. I have been on the waiting list since 2002 and only if I am allocated an A2 or A1 farm I will enhance my livestock business and possibly breed pedigrees,” he said.
The enterprising farmer is looking forward to producing his own stock feed after constructing a factory and purchasing a state-of-the-art stock feed and poultry manufacturing machinery at a cost of US$90 000 in 2017.
“I managed to put in place a stock feed manufacturing plant and bought the requisite machinery last year after I was sponsored with US$45 000 under SNV’s matching grant and paid the other US$45 000 for the equipment to be delivered from South Africa.
“I am looking forward to start manufacturing my own stock feed as well as selling to other farmers before the end of this year. I should have long started producing the stock feed but the shortage of foreign currency has been a stumbling block as some of the raw materials are imported,” said Mr Nkomo.
As part of growing his business, Mr Nkomo has acquired a building in Bulawayo, which he intends to turn into a meat wholesale effectively offering the entire value-chain through value addition, a reminiscence of the farm to fork concept.
“I will complete payment for a building in Bulawayo, which I intend to turn into a meat wholesale offering meat as well as various meat products such as sausages and ham among others,” he said.
Mr Nkomo said the revitalisation of the Cold Storage Company (CSC) comes as a plus to farmers as it would offer them a ready market to sell their animals at lucrative prices.
“I am impatiently waiting for CSC to resume fully fledged operations and I will be one of the farmers that will be supplying it with beef cattle.
Officials from the Department of Veterinary Services have been to my farm before and told me that the way I keep my animals was in-line with the standards required for exports,” he said.
Mr Nkomo said cattle ranching needed one to be passionate, astute and be hands on.
“One has to possess the requisite production and management skills to be a successful livestock farmer, knowing when to dip and dose their cattle. In essence a farmer shouldn’t rely on his or her workers to look after his animals, he has to be hands on as well. For instance I do the weaning myself and I prefer weaning early and this has worked well for me, like this year I am expecting many calves,” he said.
Apart from raising cattle, Mr Nkomo also rears goats and intends to grow the small stock through introducing high yielding exotic breeds.
“I also have a goat project and intend to grow it through introducing the Kalahari Red goat from South Africa. I also used to keep pigs but I abandoned this project two years ago as I failed to get a lucrative market and the demand for pork is basically very low,” he said.
@DNsingo
