CSC reopening, a positive development in the livestock sector

DURING this past week the livestock farming community woke up to pleasant news that has been anticipated for a long time.

It was the news of the official opening of the giant Cold Storage Company (CSC) abattoir by the nation’s Vice- President, Dr C G Chiwenga. The abattoir has been closed for 22 years and livestock farmers have been feeling the void of its absence.

There have been numerous reported false starts and still born efforts before of trying to resurrect the massive meat processing entity, to the extent that a lot of people have been sceptical of the CSC plant ever rising from the dead. This scepticism still permeates the livestock circle even now when the giant plant has finally resumed its operations, albeit not in full capacity.

It is perfectly understandable for people in general and livestock farmers in particular to be doubtful about the longevity of this resurrection, with most of them feeling its another ill fated false start.

However, those of us who have nursed an adult who has had to take physiotherapy sessions to learn how to walk all over again, will tell you that you celebrate even the smallest milestone in that patient’s day, even the ability to complete one baby step!

The collapsed CSC is akin to the patient I am referring to above, there are a lot of baby steps that the giant meat processing establishment must learn and undertake before claiming its rightful place in the beef and leather value chains.

It is in that regard that I rally livestock farmers and all players within the different value chains that will directly or indirectly interface with CSC as an abattoir and its ancillary roles, to give this newly resurrected enterprise a chance and not to rush it to full throttle operations before it completes the necessary baby steps.

The turf within which CSC used to operate has changed significantly ranging from the economy itself to the existence of competition within the same business. CSC thrived when it was a monopoly and went down at the advent of new players within the abattoir circles, therefore it has to claim its place by shrugging off the stiff competition from other abattoir operators, and that may not be as easy as it sounds.

Livestock farmers, especially those with an institutional memory of CSC at its best, are very nostalgic about its reopening and they are confident glad tidings are in store. There are some livestock farmers who are well established because they benefited from various CSC programmes such as the heifer loan scheme. A scheme which loaned livestock farmers heifers and they paid back overtime.

Other farmers who have been frustrated by always depressed livestock producer prices which they allege are a result of collusion between the few private abattoirs, are optimistic that the entry of CSC into the fray may destabilise the collusion cartels and allow for competitive livestock producer prices within the sector.

The leather value chain has been on a rejuvenation trajectory over the last few years and reopening of CSC will no doubt inject new purpose into this critical value chain as well when its leather tanning operations are resumed. It is against this background of massive downstream and snowballing effects of the operations of a giant meat processing entity like CSC, that its reopening is welcome will great expectation.

This pen wishes to welcome back the giant abattoir into the livestock field and wishes it a successful second life. In the same vein I say to livestock farmers and other players in the value chain, let’s give the reincarnated CSC all the support we can and hope that it will bring in a fresh breath into the livestock industry in general.

Uyabonga umntaka MaKhumalo. Mhlupheki Dube is a livestock specialist and farmer. He writes in his own capacity. Feedback mazikelana@gmail.com/ cell 0772851275