Oliver Chimwendo showing the sorgum crop he has grown as supplentary feed for his goats.
Revelling in his blossoming goat
herd, Oliver Chimwendo of Mudzi district, Ward 2 in Mashonaland East province
is a man on a mission. With just over a year since he began goat rearing, it is
a marvel that Chimwendo has already grown to be one of the leading goat farmers
in the district. He speaks of his journey so far with pride and great
expectation for the future.
“I have always had a passion for
goats and began this project in 2018 and I now have a 208-goats consisting 152
does and three bucks. I recently sold 50 in December 2019 and used the proceeds
to erect a fence around the goat pens and also bought vaccination drugs. My
greatest desire is to see the growth of goat producers in my area.”
Chimwendo was selected to be one
of the 1000 anchor farmers under the Value Chain Alliance for Livestock
Upgrading and Empowerment (VALUE) project and will have an opportunity to contribute
to the growth of goat production by leading small and medium scale goat
producers in his area towards the goal of commercialisation. In an area like
Mudzi, a drive towards commercial goat production is not without its
challenges, due to rampant retreating of veld, scarce water sources and
unviable markets.
“Since embarking on goat
production, one of the challenges I have faced is struggling to find adequate
forage, supplementary feed for the goats coupled with shortages of water, use
of inferior genetics and lack of access to viable markets as well as high costs
of veterinary drugs” says Chimwendo.
On the back of these binding
constraints in goat production, the project comes in as a breath of fresh air,
raising the hopes and expectations of farmers like Chimwendo across the target
districts.
In a bid to commercialise goat
production for smallholder farmers, the project has begun undertaking
commercialisation trainings at district and ward levels. At the onset of the
2019/20 farming season, Chimwendo participated in trainings on
commercialisation where various topics such as accessing viable markets, good
farm management and fodder production were conducted.
For the first time in his goat
enterprise, Chimwendo planted over three hectares of fodder plants for the
purpose of providing supplementary feeding for his goats. The plants consist of
sunflower, sorghum, sun hemp, velvet bean and cow peas.
Having already purchased a
grinding mill, Chimwendo is looking forward to supplementing his goat herd to
improve their live weights. He has made a commitment to cascade the trainings
he has received and invite other farmers in his producer group to learn and
benefit from his experience.
“I am grateful for the trainings
that I have received and am looking forward with hope and expectation to fully
commercialising my goat enterprise through participation in the VALUE project”,
added Chimwendo.