Zimpapers Logo

Conrad Mwanawashe Business Reports
PADENGA Holdings sees opportunities to expand local production by an additional 15 000 skins per annum of the requisite size and quality.

The crocodile breeding concern sees further expansion possibilities in its United States based Alligator operations, Lone Star Alligator Farm, to 40 000 watch-band alligator skins from 20 000 watch-band alligator skins per annum.

Adding 15 000 skins per annum would require Padenga to set up another farm as current capacity at the company’s three farms is limited to about 20 000 crocodiles per year each.

Currently, the three farms hold an average of 14 000 animals each. The company currently has about 22 000 hatchlings and more than 5 000 breeders. Skin size is currently average at 36-37 centimetres.

Overall, growth and expansion will be achieved in line with

the company’s policy of sticking to the fundamentals of crocodile farming and exploiting

the human capital at the

concern.

In a briefing during an Imara investment tour of the company’s operations in Kariba early this week, chief executive officer Mr Gary Sharp said Padenga’s success hinges on sticking to the fundamentals of crocodile farming.

“We are not scared to spend our money. We invest in what we believe in. If we believe in it we spend our money there. We don’t own chicken farms to feed our crocodiles, we buy chicken from chicken farmers.

“We don’t have mombes (cattle) on a ranch so that we can get out meat cheaper we leave that to the ranchers. Every dollar that we have, we put it on the farms.

“We are crocodile farmers. What you see is what you get. We are simply crocodile farmers, totally and focused and dedicated to what we do,” said Mr Sharp.

Some of the fundamentals that have helped Padenga include investment in research and development especially on feed, investment in hatchlings.

Padenga expects to produce at least perfect 100 000 eggs by 2018 which will make the company less reliant on wild eggs. Currently the company is producing about 90 000 eggs.

“We are about two years away from being in a position where we can generate our own domestic eggs for our own operations and maintain the quality of hatchlings that we need,” said Mr Sharp.

The wild eggs cost about $8 per egg while domestic eggs cost about $6 per egg. Mr Sharp said the spread between domestic and wild eggs stands at 65 percent to 35 percent respectively.

Mr Sharp said this level of growth will be underpinned on continued investment in hygiene and treatment to side step the 42 different types of diseases that can attack crocodiles.