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Elton Manguwo

AMID growing calls by farmers for cattle to be considered cattle bankable assets, a local company TN Cattle Depository, has responded with innovation that enables farmers to access loans on the strength of the cattle they have while realising the maximum value of their animals.

In a presentation during the ‘Convergence of Agritech and Business Innovation to Develop Agriculture Value Chains’ workshop in Harare recently, TN depository chief executive officer Mr Tawanda Nyambirai said the cattle depository was an innovation that made cattle a bankable asset and helped farmers access capital.

“The cattle depository was introduced to help farmers extract maximum value from their animals,” said Mr Nyambirai.

The cattle bank is a 540-hectare farm in Featherstone, about 100 km from Harare.

Upon depositing beef cattle one will be entitled to an interest of 10 percent per annum on the value of the deposit from the date of deposit in relation to calves from the date the calves reach two years of age.

“When it comes to breeding stock, the minimum deposit period shall be five years and for calves, five years shall be counted from the date the calf reaches two years of age.  We will carry all the costs of breeding and you shall be entitled to all the calves,” said Mr Nyambirai.

Upon depositing their cattle, farmers will get a certificate of deposit, which would allow them to get access to loan facilities.

“Farmers will be able to access loans at an interest rate of 10 percent per annum,” said Mr Nyambirai highlighting how one can borrow at low interests by using the certificate of deposit to fund other projects such as inputs and farm developments.

Additionally, the increasing competition for land between cattle and other farming operations has resulted in farmers exceeding the maximum land carrying capacity.

“This innovation will ensure that farmers can focus on other land uses through decongesting the land, which will be available for crop cultivation,” said Mr Nyambirai.The development comes at a time the Government is looking to make the cattle industry attractive to farmers.

“In order to improve the national cattle herd there is need to make the cattle industry attractive to farmers by remodelling the cattle marketing system so that smallholder farmers can realise and unlock real value from their cattle,” Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development permanent secretary Dr John Basera said recently.