adminThe farmers went through periodic training in January in marketing of livestock, seed multiplication, early planting and livestock management.
The farmers said through educational programmes they attended, they had realised that middlemen had been cheating them by downgrading and buying their livestock for a song.
A farmer from Bulilima District, Ms Sikilikici Khuphe of Ward 12 under Chief Madlambudzi said they were surprised to note that there were places where they could get a better and fair deal for their cattle.
“The private buyers would come and tell the farmer that your beast is an inferior grade so I can only buy it for $150, while it is worth $450.
“A lot of farmers were being cheated because they did not know the true value of their cattle,” she said.
Ms Khuphe said in January, an information dissemination exercise was held in her ward and cases involving middlemen cheating villagers were on a sharp decrease.
“We held a field day where we showed the villagers how to grade their beast. Since January, we have experienced a sharp decline in the number of people who have been cheated by these middle men,” she said.
Another farmer, Mr Andreas Sixboys Ndebele from Mangwe District, Embakwe Ward 13 under Chief Wasi, said the middlemen would take advantage of villagers in desperate need to pay fees or bury a loved one and they would dictate a price for their beast.
“When you need money desperately the middle men would tell you that he could only buy it for a very low price.
“Before beef prices dropped, the highest quality of beef called Chiller would fetch $800 but the middle men would say they could buy that from us at $550 or $500,” he said.
Mr Ndebele said farmers had lost a lot of money because they did not know that they were supposed to prepare their cattle in order to get a good price.
He said the knowledge gained helped them to prepare their cattle to sell to butcheries and abattoirs.
“Before you take the beasts to the abattoir or butchery, you have to remove ticks with chemical and dose them for some time so that you get value for your money,” he said.
Mr Ndebele said they had organised sessions where communities would sit down with buyers and negotiate a fair price for the livestock on sale.
“The committee in the district sits down with the buyers and we negotiate with them a fair price for the farmer so that he or she is not cheated,” he said.
Hlekweni field officer for Gwanda South, Mr Miclas Ndlovu, said the training programmes they held exceeded the expectations as the response from the farmers was overwhelming.
He said farmers utilised technologies that they taught them such as early planting methods and training members of their community.
Practical Action is a non -governmental organisation that targets rural farmers’ needs to access new technologies suitable for their circumstances through adapting traditional technologies, testing and introducing new ones.
Hlekweni Training Centre encourages agricultural practices which enhance environmental sustainability through empowering trainees with skills and confidence to become initiators of development in rural communities, by meeting local needs for essential products and services with locally available resources and appropriate technologies.
Online Reporter