Zimbabwe Agricultural Growth Programme - ZAGP Beef Enterprise Strengthening and Transformation (BEST)

There are 2 models further developed:

1. ) Building of Cattle Business Centres(10) owned by farmer associations and co-managed by PSPs (Surrey/Sabie, Balu Pecan, MC Meats, Koala): CBCs provide training and access to input and output markets,
2. ) Mentorship of emerging farmers through the set of commercial farmers financed by Nurture Finance: commercial farmers to mentor 10 emerging farmers each (ECFs) that will eventually have access to loans breeding centres established and developing breeders; training to ECFs; ECFs receive loans from NF

Implementation progress

- The beef value chain is dual with 80% of the herds managed in an extensive manner where cattle have many other functions (draught power, savings, manure, milk) before being a commodity; there is an opposition between resilience and intensification objectives and average off take is around 5% (national target is 15%); also, profitability is low for farmers in a situation where most of the marketing is done by middlemen who have US dollar cash (contrary to abattoirs) and are always around when you need to sell an animal. 50% of animal slaughtered comes from this extensive production system with no herd management practices, no dosing, no feeding being performed and most of carcass are therefore graded as manufacturing (other grades are economy, super and choice)

- With no pull or push drivers, supporting commercialisation is challenging; the general strategy of the project has been to show increased profitability for farmers (through more frequent auctions and feedlotting for the Christmas market) and increased control over marketing (through the establishment of community owned CBC).