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Elton Manguwo

FARMERS want the cattle auctions introduced by the Agricultural Marketing Authority (AMA) late last year to be done consistently and in an orderly fashion if they are to realise meaningful benefits from their animals.

In an interview yesterday, Zimbabwe Farmers Union (ZFU) secretary general Mr Paul Zakariya said the cattle auction system was a good initiative but there was need for AMA to be more organised in handling the auctions to ensure their continuity.

“AMA should have strict calendars on the selling dates in the different provinces so that farmers are not tempted to sell to bogus dealers,” said Mr Zakariya emphasising on the need for organised markets.

THE cattle auction system, which was operationalised by AMA a few months ago has thrown a lifeline to small-scale farmers with the scheme enabling them to discover the true economic value of their animals.

“AMA should work therefore with other stakeholders including us. As farmers we are ready to work with them to bring sanity into cattle marketing,” said Mr Zakariya.

The auction systems are strategic in guaranteeing that farmers are insulated from bogus middlemen that rip them off.

“The cattle auction platform addresses the needs for different markets, which is key in guaranteeing that farmers earn the maximum value from their cattle,” said Mr Zakariya.

The establishment of marketing platforms for small-scale farmers is a welcome development that will help in price discovery of their animals on the public market.

Mr Zakariya highlighted that the rolling out of such initiatives was pivotal in developing the beef value chain as the Government calls for the remodelling of the cattle marketing platforms so that smallholder farmers can have a ready market for their animals.

“Order is needed to bring value to the main player who is the farmer and save her from fraudulent buyers who would buy cattle for a song from farmers while getting higher value from the abattoirs or other third party players they later sell to,” he said.

The Government, through AMA, is implementing the cattle auction systems to protect farmers from unscrupulous dealers that had become a nuisance in the industry.

“The establishment of the cattle auction system is a welcome step towards centralising the cattle buying market,” said Mr Zakariya.

In addition, the initiative also targets to increase production, productivity, market competitiveness and organisational efficiencies for cattle producers through deliberate efforts to increase efficiencies at production level by promoting good animal husbandry practices such as dipping, vaccination and supplementary feeding to reduce animal mortality.

The development comes on the backdrop of growing calls by the Government for the remodelling of cattle marketing platforms so that smallholder farmers can do fair trading of their animals.