Desperation forces farmers to accept low cattle prices

Agriculture Reporter
PRIVATE buyers are taking advantage of the desperation among farmers for money to buy inputs and food by paying low prices for cattle.
Prices of cattle have fallen from US$2 per kilogramme to between US$1.10 and US$1.60 per kilogramme, which translates to between US$150 and US$200 per beast. Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union president Mr Wonder Chabikwa confirmed the development saying desperation was forcing farmers to accept low prices.

“The absence of strategic funding for the agriculture sector has forced many farmers to sell their cattle. Rains have already come and some of the farmers have not accessed funding and are resorting to selling their livestock, “he said.

Mr Chabikwa complained that abattoir operators, the majority of whom were former commercial farmers, were reaping off farmers.