By Zvikomborero Machirori
Government says it is making strides towards the resuscitation of the beef industry and resume exports to both traditional and new markets.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, Climate and Rural Settlement Dr John Bhasera says the opening of a Boran quarantine station in Zimbabwe will go a long way in ensuring the objective is met.
This is the first such station in the Southern African region.
Speaking in an interview on the sidelines of the opening of the station, Dr Bhasera said they are also ringing the Cold Storage Company on board to ensure that Zimbabwe is once again recognized among the lending beef exporters in the region.
“We now need to start to be visible again as we move towards resuming our beef exports into the region and beyond. We need to recapture the market. This means that we need to up our game from production of livestock and quality of exports,” said Mr Bhasera.
The resumption of beef exports and revival of beef production in the country is in line with the Ministry’s thrust of transforming the agricultural sector to support vision 2030.
The Boran breed is expected to also help in expediting efforts to resuscitate the national heard.
Communal farmers are expected to grow their herds through cross breeding with the Boran.
The Boran Breeders Association said it is very easy to cross breed the Boran with indigenous breeds such as the Mashona, the Ngoni and Thuli breeds.
Association Chairperson Mark Hook said,”we have been breeding Boran for 15 years. Since 2007, we have resuscitated the Boran Society and we believe it is the breed that is going to revive the communal herd.”
