Irvine's, govt share notes on challenges facing poultry sector
ZIMBABWE's major poultry producer Irvine’s has engaged government over the cost of doing business and decried the clampdown on transportation of agricultural produce by law enforcement agents, saying this had hit its earnings hard.
“We have a very large number of required permits, duplicated inspections, registrations, and other bureaucratic processes which are making the importation of stockfeed ingredients in particular very difficult. The costs around these permits are continuously rising and they have become of great concern. This is hindering our growth and unnecessarily increasing the operational costs and ultimately burdening the consumers,” the company's chief executive David Irvine told Vice-President Kembo Mohadi during a tour of the premises in Harare yesterday.
“Another challenge is on the importation of raw materials which are currently not produced in Zimbabwe, especially grain and soya meal which is imported from South Africa. The long delays at the border are causing major problems and quite often, we are on a hand to mouth basis and costs go up because of demurrage on vehicles.”
Irvine said the government needs to avail bankable 99-year leases to farmers to enable them to recoup their capital expenditure.
“As the major poultry producer, we are proposing that Zimbabwe gets back to the position where we can grow most of our grain and soyabeans and I believe that this can be done through government’s support initiatives such as long-term bankable lease agreements. We desperately need bankable 99-year leases so that farmers can operate and have reasonable bankable tenure for a period to enable them to recoup their capital expenditure. I believe with these initiatives, we can become selfsufficient in food,” he said.
He also urged the law enforcement agents manning roadblocks to allow smooth flow of agricultural produce during the COVID-19 lockdown period. “We are currently having difficulties reaching our customers and while I fully understand the need for strict COVID-19 lockdown regulations, we need the police at roadblocks to be better briefed so that we can operate as an essential business to get food to the various parts of the country, considering that poultry products are perishable,” he said.