Govt speaks on Cattle Grazier Scheme

Deputy Minister of Agriculture responsible for Livestock Paddy Zhanda has there was a scheme, called the Cattle Grazier Scheme which resided at Cold Storage Company  which used to finance people on the issue of cattle farming.

He said People would apply to CSC for that Grazier Scheme and then they would be allocated some money to go and buy those female animals and at the end of five years or whatever it is, they would then be required to pay through slaughtering through CSC.

"That was the main scheme that supported CSC for it to be viable.  That was the cornerstone of the CSC through put. We have no resources to start that scheme at the moment, but we are really working hard to find resources to start that scheme again because that scheme is very important for the cornerstone of the livestock sector, particularly in relation to Matabeleland," he said.

"What we have done at the moment is, we have started it on a very small scale using our CSC ranches where we are putting people who have got their cattle there and they pay us through the protégé of those animals.  Those animals are the ones that, at the moment, we have started giving to other farmers, particularly in Matabeleland South and in Masvingo, Chiredzi and Mwenezi."

He said that scheme is slowly building up, but we are hoping that one day obviously, finance would be available and as finance would be available.

"We definitely would want to roll out that scheme because as we work towards opening up CSC, that would be the main source of supply to CSC throughput," he said.

"As to the importation of animals from other countries, we only allow where we have got a superior breed, where people want to bring superior breeds in terms of genetics of the bloodline for the purposes of enhancing our own cattle in this country, but before you import obviously, our vets and the vets in that country would have to work on the issue of diseases.  What diseases do they have in that country, where are the animals coming from, are they coming from a disease free area or whatever it is and our vets, nine out of 10, would have to go into that country to verify because one of the things we would want to avoid is to import animals that are not disease free."

He said when one have identified it, obviously, blood samples and other things - in actual fact, the vets of the two countries know exactly the procedures that they have to engage.

"Once it has been okayed, then we will give you a permit to import and obviously, other quarantine requirements will also come into play.  So, if you want to import using your own money, you can apply and we always entertain those applications," he said.