MUTARE A local NGO, Extended Agricultural Support Network (EASNET), today said the organisation had come up with programmes to commercialize small livestock. (Pictured: According to EASNET, there is a ready market for pig farming)
The Programmes Director of the organisation, Cephas Kanyemba, said rearing small livestock by small-scale farmers had not yet gained momentum in Zimbabwe. Rearing of small livestock such as goats, pigs and sheep is at present done on a small scale. In some cases this is due to marketing difficulties the farmers face. The rearing of small livestock has not been commercialized in some areas and it has not gained popularity among the small scale farmers,” said Kanyemba.
“As an organisation we have lined up programmes to commercialize efforts in the Manicaland region, especially Buhera and Chipinge. The main reason is that these areas receive low rainfall, therefore it is difficult for these small scale-farmers to practice crop farming,” he said. Kanyemba said the absence of formal markets for small livestock was one of the main problems. “As far as pigs are concerned, there is a ready market, but there are problems (with) markets for sheep, rabbits and goats. However, we are going to assist the farmers to open up local and international markets,” said Kanyemba.