Farmers push for value from 5,7m herd

Zimbabwe’s 5,7 million cattle herd is increasingly under focus, with farmers and industry players demanding better returns amid concerns that the sector is failing to deliver meaningful income despite its size.

At the centre of the debate are long-standing challenges around pricing, market access and weak value chains, which have left many smallholder farmers struggling to realise value from their livestock.

Director of Livestock and Fisheries Production Milton Makumbe said the key issue lies in how the livestock sector is structured, with inefficiencies limiting earnings across the value chain.

He said reforms such as Statutory Instrument 182 are meant to address imbalances in the market and improve transparency, particularly in pricing systems that have often disadvantaged farmers.

Makumbe said there is also growing emphasis on strengthening value chains to ensure cattle are not only sold as raw stock, but processed and marketed in ways that increase returns.

The dairy sector, he said, remains critical, with opportunities for value addition and improved market access seen as key to boosting farmer incomes.

Despite the size of the national herd, farmers said  the benefits have not been fully realised, with many still treating livestock as a store of wealth rather than a consistent income-generating asset.

The challenge now is to build systems that allow farmers to participate in structured markets, access fair pricing and benefit from downstream value addition.