peterTHE annual Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) has come and gone. I did not have the occasion to attend this year’s edition.
So, I missed out on my favourite section, the livestock exhibition stands at the showgrounds. Let me, however, take this opportunity to congratulate the farmers who brought their animals to the show and made the livestock exhibition possible.
I am informed there were about four breeders who brought a handful of animals. A special mention goes to Mr Mcebisi Ndlovu of Camen Brahman for winning the ZIFT 2022 Junior champion bull and Junior champion heifers. The animals were of top-notch quality, at least from the pictures shared!
Congratulations also go to Mr Obert Chinhamo of Biano Simmentals for presenting winning animals. I do not have details of the categories he won but I extend gratitude for ensuring that the livestock section had good animals on show.
My conversation with Mr Mcebisi Ndlovu of Camen Brahmans, post the ZITF informs most of this week’s contribution and some of the views herein expressed are inspired by his contribution. The first point being that not many breeders brought animals to the show hence reducing the spectrum of competition.
It would help if more farmers from different breed societies could bring animals so that the competition is first within the same breed and then across breeds. This will help so that apples are compared to apples, not bananas. This means whoever is involved in mobilising for animals to be brought to the show must do extensive mobilisation so that more entries are registered.
Admittedly this year there was a set back of the outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) within the catchment areas such as Figtree, thereby affecting some farmers who would have brought the animals for the show. Talking of mobilisation for show animals, this pen wonders why Agritex, a Government agricultural extension arm seems not to assist in mobilising for animals to be brought to the show.
I have seen Agritex vigorously mobilising and making sure various crop produce from smallholder farmers across the provinces are brought to the ZITF and exhibited. Farmers even compete and win. However, I have not seen similar vigour in mobilising for livestock from smallholder farmers to be exhibited at the trade fair, why?
Another point regarding animals brought to the ZITF, is that the bracket should be widened to include commercial herds especially from smallholder farmers, who we know contribute close to 90 percent of the national herd. It is a misnomer that the national herd can be represented by stud breeders only because these are just but a small fraction of the national herd.
It would make perfect sense to have at least three categories in the cattle section, that is the dairy section, stud section and the commercial herd section. This will be a wide enough representation of the cattle farmers across the broader spectrum. There are a lot of good quality animals within the commercial herd although not registered as pedigree.
In simple terms organisers of the exhibition must appreciate that there is a whole continuum of cattle producers falling into different categories because of their level of production and these ought to be represented at the show and they compete among their contemporaries.
The showgrounds have the capacity to hold hundreds of animals and we need to see all the pens occupied so that we have a full range of animals depicting the real picture of the livestock situation and production levels in the country.
Having just a few animals on the show gives an incomplete picture of this beautiful industry! We want the judges and visitors to the show to be spoiled for choice, only then can we be able to compare, like to like and judge an animal measured against its contemporaries both in terms of age and breed.
This means all stakeholders that are involved in organising for livestock exhibition need to shift the gears a few notches up so as to improve participation of livestock farmers. Be that as it may, we would like to thank them for making sure the livestock story is told to the public by bringing in high quality animals at the just ended ZITF 2022.
Uyabonga umntaMaKhumalo.
Mhlupheki Dube is a livestock specialist and farmer. He writes in his own capacity. Feedback [email protected]/ cell 0772851275
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