Training empowers rural Zimbabweans in poultry entrepreneurship

FOR generations, poultry in Zimbabwe wasn’t a business, it was a backyard tradition. Women raised chickens for occasional meals, a special treat for visitors. Men focused on cattle, the prized possession of a family.

But times are changing. Across rural Zimbabwe, a new kind of poultry farmer is emerging — the entrepreneur. These aren’t hobbyists, but savvy individuals, both men and women, who are turning clucking chicks into a reliable source of income.

Small-scale poultry operations are transforming lives. Farmers are building homes, educating their children, and even acquiring cars, all thanks to their feathered flocks.

This success hasn’t gone unnoticed. Development organisations and government departments are stepping up, offering training programmes to empower these poultry pioneers.

Yesterday, the Zimbabwe Farmers Union (ZFU) partnered with Urban Farmer to train over 150 poultry farmers from Matabeleland. The focus? Vaccination, proper feeding, and exceptional chicken care — all crucial ingredients for maximising profits.

For the farmers themselves, the impact is undeniable. They speak of lives transformed, basic needs met, and a new-found confidence.

While broilers and layers remain popular choices, the market is evolving. The growing demand for traditional foods has opened doors for roadrunners, a breed prized for its delicious meat and premium price tag.

Sithabile Sibanda from Inyathi exemplifies this shift. She saw the saturated broiler market and took a different route, raising roadrunners. This gamble paid off, securing her a niche market with high demand and high rewards.

“Poultry production has become a life-changing initiative to many rural and urban small holder farmers. This is because the project doesn’t need a lot of things and you can start small and grow as you go.

“Where I come from, people are earning a living through poultry and we have now started venturing into roadrunners as they are on demand and they are easy and cheaper to grow than broilers even though they take time to mature,” she said.

Sibanda expressed her gratitude to Urban Farmer and ZFU for the training, highlighting its potential to transform their projects into commercial ventures. She highlighted learning to produce their own feed as a key takeaway that will significantly reduce production costs.

“The coming up of poultry has also managed to empower women and youths, instead of them moving around looking for jobs, they can create some small groups and raise start-up capital for a poultry project,” she said.

“I’m into women empowerment and I urge women to do projects like these as these can assist us to take care of families.”

Bekithemba Mtshede, a poultry farmer from Siphezini, highlighted another advantage — the low capital barrier to entry. Many people, even without extensive training, have found success in poultry farming, he said. According to him it’s a viable option that empowers not just the farmers themselves, but also their families. Women, in particular, can contribute by assisting their husbands, regardless of their primary occupations, both in rural and urban areas. This industry offers a path for poverty reduction across communities.

“This training by Urban Farmer and ZFU will assist us to improve our businesses as we want to improve and be able to grow from small to large poultry producers. Poultry has assisted many families because even with small start-ups capital you can have your business running, especially road runners. They don’t need a lot of things,” he said.

In an interview, Mitchell Marais, a trainer from Urban Farmer, explained the training’s objective — to empower these farmers to transition from subsistence-level operations to small-scale commercial ventures.

“By empowering smallholder poultry farmers, it makes their production better and it makes their access to protein better which will give a more balanced diet as we aim to create economic activity within these communities,” she said.

Ester Mwanza, representing the ZFU, highlighted their value chain development initiative for poultry farmers. This project, designed to empower rural communities, is currently piloting a roadrunner project in Umguza district. However, Mwanza acknowledged feedback from farmers regarding the extended maturity time of roadrunners. To address this concern, the ZFU is exploring the possibility of introducing broilers alongside roadrunners within these projects, offering farmers a diversified product range.

“We are developing on what they already have, we want them to move from being peasant farmers to being small-scale commercial farmers,” she said.

While the growing number of poultry farmers presents exciting opportunities, it also raises concerns about market saturation. Mwanza reassured the farmers by mentioning the ZFU’s market linkage initiatives, established through their capacity-building programmes.