Increase Gumbo
Sugar processing giant, Tongaat Hullett has entered into a ten-year lease agreement with the Cold Storage Commission (CSC), a public/private partnership which is expected to revive production at Chiumburu Ranch, TellZim News has learnt.
The deal comes in the wake of the loss of 6000 cattle that succumbed to the effects of drought in the province this year.
Tongaat Hulett has since set aside US$2 million to purchase underfed cattle in surrounding villages for transfer to Chiumburu Ranch.
Speaking at the official handover of 100 cattle to CSC held at a Tongaat Hulett feedlot on Tuesday last week, Deputy Minister Responsible for Livestock in the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation, Paddy Zhanda hailed Tongaat Hulett for the good gesture.
“Tongaat Hulett did a great job and if it wasn’t for their timely intervention, we could have lost more than 15 000 cattle in Masvingo Province due to the drought,” said Zhanda.
Tongaat Hulett Managing Director, Sydney Mutsambiwa said they entered into partnership with CSC to lease the ranch in order to improve the national average beef carcass weight which has been on a gradual decline.
“The agreement will increase the genetic pool of beef breeds and priority will be given to the preservation and improvement of indigenous breeds and use of indigenous trees such as acacia pods and Mopani leaves in cattle feeding,” said Mutsambiwa.
The lease agreement requires Tongaat Hulett to pay 10 per cent of all heifers weaned each season from progeny off-breeding cows to CSC as rentals.
CSC Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Ngoni Chinogaramombe said the heifers would be given to ten cattle ranchers in Mwenezi in order to increase their breeding base and the farmers will have to pay for them over a period to be determined.news
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