CSC re-opening: A milestone in NDS 1
CONSISTENT with the collective aspirations of the Second Republic to achieve an empowered and prosperous upper middle-income society by 2030, the Government launched a new transformative and inclusive development agenda which is expected to deliver broad-based transformation, wealth creation and expand horizons of economic opportunities for all Zimbabweans, where no one and no place is left behind.
The achievement of Vision 2030 is therefore anchored on the national industrialisation strategy built on competitiveness and regional integration, value addition and beneficiation as the correct formula for turning the country from an exporter of raw and primary products to a key global exporter of processed goods.
Emphasis is therefore, not only on creating value chains locally across sectors, but also across borders while upgrading existing and developing new infrastructure to expedite the creation of employment and trade opportunities locally and regionally.
Africa has been trying to industrialise since 1951 with the independence of Ghana and its failure has not been on the back of lack of resources, but largely political and most importantly about the lack of the requisite technology and the ghost of imperialistic exploitation that has been haunting the continent. In Zimbabwe the country has set its sight on Vision 2030 which seeks to create an upper middle-income economy with a $65 billion GDP.
This vision can only be realised through a rapid industrialisation strategy as the country moves away from low-income primary production to high income value addition and beneficiation as stated by President Mnangagwa.
The Second Republic has therefore put together an economic blueprint to guide its progress going forward — the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) which followed the Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP) whose term expired with several positives. The NDS1 notes that the economy is going to be build on the strength of productive sectors such as mining and agriculture. It however, notes that the agriculture sector is faced with a number of challenges that are however, not insurmountable if all hands are put on the decks.
“The agriculture sector in general is currently faced with the following challenges such as inadequate financing (short, medium and longterm financing), high operating costs (high costs of doing business); high financing costs, pricing distortions and inadequate investment in the agricultural sector.”
These challenges are a part of both crop and livestock production which are equally important in ensuring of food security at household and national level and rise the population’s standards of living. A lot of movement has therefore, been made by the Government in that direction and the re-opening of the Cold Storage Commission (CSC) in Bulawayo is part of the broad plan towards transforming the economy as part of the value livestock value chain.
The NDS1 further articulates that livestock production plays an important role in the social, cultural and economic environment of Zimbabwe and that it will prioritise animal health and production through strengthening farmer knowledge, skills in livestock production and health so as to enhance productivity through strategies such as creating livestock business centres for small stocks (goats, sheep, pigs) based on the hub and spoke model and resuscitate the Cold Storage Commission.
Speaking at the official re-opening of the CSC on Thursday, Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, Climate and Rural Development Dr Anxious Masuka said the country is seized with revitalising the livestock sector guided by the livestock growth plan, one of the anchor plans of the Agriculture and Food System Transformation Strategy (AFSTS).
“To concretise the transformation process, an anchor investor was required to resuscitate Cold Storage Company so that it resumes operations and get back to its glorious days. This saw the Government and Boustead Beef (Pvt) Ltd enter into a Livestock Joint Farming Concession Agreement on 22 January 2019,” said Dr Masuka.
Cognisant of this objective, Government has thus encouraged public-private partnership (PPPs) commonly known as joint ventures and CSC has engaged Boustead Beef Zimbabwe in a PPP and most farmers are excited at the prospects of a booming business.
Livestock expert and breeder Mr Nkanyiso Ngwenya said the Boustead Beef/ CSC business model should see more rural farmers supplying cattle and getting better returns than from the current marketing arrangements while smaller stock too will be marketed profitably. This should spur rural development.
“This is a very exciting and encouraging development in the sense that we now have an off-take for livestock who has the capacity to buy very large number at competitive prices. This means a higher return for both commercial and subsistence livestock farmers and in turn it is an encouragement and a stimulant for them to increase their breeding herds and increase their production. Also, this time around, the small livestock farmers are also being incorporated, this is where all the money is because they reproduce quicker and are ready for the market at a much earlier stage. I am especially excited to be working with small livestock farmers as we gear up for this one,” said Mr Ngwenya.
The CSC is one of the oldest companies in the country. Around 1924 the Rhodesian government went into an agreement with the South African-based Imperial Cold Storage and Supply Company Ltd to establish a subsidiary company that would develop a chilled and frozen beef industry on the basis of an agreement that later became Act Number 34 of 1924.
The company would have a monopoly to export chilled and frozen meat for a period of ten years, effectively guaranteeing it against losses. Rhodesian Export and Cold Storage Company Ltd (Recsco) started operating in 1928. On 15 October 1937, Cabinet resolved that a Bill should be drafted for the establishment of a commission on the lines of the Electricity Commission to take over Resco. The proposed Bill subsequently became the Cold Storage Commission Act 37 of 1937, which provided for the establishment of a Commission for the purpose of acquiring, establishing and operating abattoirs and refrigerating works for the purpose of chilling, freezing and storing beef, mutton, pork, poultry and other meat foods for export or for consumption.
The Commission subsequently took control of the works, which included a Cold Storage Area grant of 50 morgen, plant and machinery and Strathmore Ranch, on the Gwanda Road south of Mbalabala on 1 May 1938.
Following the expropriation by Government, CSC expanded and modernised the Bulawayo factory. It also established new abattoirs in Harare in 1943, Mutare in 1946 and Masvingo in 1951. It also built cold stores in Kwekwe in 1946 and Gweru in 1947.
The company would export to regional countries such as Zambia, South Africa and Congo as well as the United Kingdom. The expansion of CSC resulted in increased demand for beef and the Government started going after livestock owned by Africans. In 1941, Government formalised its de-stocking policy by passing the Natural Resources Act No. 9 of 1941, Section 36 of which provided for the limitation of the numbers of livestock in African areas on the grounds that overstocking in those areas was causing environmental degradation.
In 1951, the Native Land Husbandry Act was passed, and it provided for further limitation of stock owners in the African reserves. In 1948, CSC ventured into the pork industry through the acquisition of Neill’s Bacon Factory. The company had operations in Bulawayo and Harare. This followed the establishment of the Rhodesia National Pig Breeders’ Co-op Ltd by Matabeleland pig farmers in 1947.
The Commission processed and marketed all the Co-op’s slaughter pigs at prices fixed by the Rhodesian Pig Industry Board. In 1957, the Commission divested from the business and handed it over to Colcom, then a privately controlled producers’ organisation. In 1948 CSC also invested in the poultry industry via a recently-established Rhodesian Poultry Co-op. Poultry producers were guaranteed a market as it took all eggs offered by members of the Co-op at a fixed price. The Commission withdrew from the venture in 1964. @nyeve14