Background
Zimbabwe has 4.7 million goats from 784827 farmers, of which only 2.82% is in commercial hands, (ZIMSTAT Livestock Survey 2012). The farmer to goat ratio of 1 farmer to 6 goats shows that Zimbabwe is far from commercialising her goats when compared to a benchmark of 1 farmer to 50 goats which is considered a minimum threshold. Zimbabwe is sitting on over $500 million untapped goat resource ready to be exploited. Over 97% of the goat stock in Zimbabwe is for subsistence consumption and sentimental value. There is no developed goat value chain in Zimbabwe and any rudimentary trading that is taking place is driven by the middlemen who are exploiting the small scale farmer.
FEG Trust seeks to commercialise the Zimbabwean goat to levels of Ethiopia, Nigeria and Sudan or even better driven by farmers not by middlemen.
Who are we?
We are a Value Chain Engineer made up of goat farmers in all farming regions of Zimbabwe. We are engineering a goat value chain business model after realising that we are getting old before realising the benefits of the valuable land given to us by the government. We formed ourselves into a trust in 2013 in order to be able to effectively engineer the goat value chain.
Our Vision
A robust goat industry value chain business model commercialising and exploiting the Zimbabwean goat.
FEG Trust Structure
- The Board of Trustees has the responsibility of structuring the value chain business model
- The three cluster committees are responsible for creating the cluster businesses and run them independently of each other.
FEG Trust divided Zimbabwe into 3 goat clusters shown on the map below.
Clusters of the FEG Trust Goat Value Chain Business Model
The Clusters are:
- Norther Region Cluster (NRC)
- Southern Region Cluster (SRC)
- South Eastern Region Cluster (SERC)
Each cluster revolves around an abattoir. So each cluster is mobilizing a minimum of 3000 goat farmers who are members of FEG Trust. These farmers are required to have a minimum of 50 female goats to sustain an abattoir.
The Value Chain Design
FEG Trust notes that most value chains in Zimbabwe are designed like a river system. That is why we often hear people saying “downstream industries”.
Most value chains are designed like a river, the downstream benefits more.
In ordinary value chains value flows in one direction downstream. Where the river begins, the rivulets dries soon after the rainfall.
FEG Trust is convinced that this design does impoverish farmers as society is psyched to believe that it is normal for primary producers to be poor because value increases as the product moves further downstream.
FEG Trust has an alternative proposition of value chain design.
FEG Trust proposes value chains designed like a tree, value flows in
both directions; to the consumer and to the producer
In a tree, food manufactured in the leaves travel to the tree underground which has no access to the sun. The minerals manufactured from the roots is transported to the leaves which have no other way of getting minerals. The consumer needs goat meat and the goat farmer needs the money the consumer has. Both farmer and consumer must get satisfactory value for the value chain to be self-sustaining. The health of the whole value chain is the concern of the value chain engineer in this case FEG Trust.
The Goat Value Chain Business Model
FEG Trust is pushing for a Value Chain Business Model. The whole value chain is treated as a single business. Management is concerned with the welfare of the whole value chain not a single enterprise. Primary production, value addition, distribution and consumer interfacing are all managed from one centre of authority. All players in the value chain are required to sign an oath of win-win. Zero-sum game is never tolerated.
The FEG Trust Goat Value Chain Business Model follows the following trajectory;
- Farmers commercialise their goat stock. At least 1 buck and 50 females per farmer which is considered a minimum commercial unit.
- Each cluster register a minimum of 3000 goat farmers to ensure that the abattoir becomes sustainable
- Each Cluster establishes its own abattoir
- A goat meat franchise of at least 120 Butcheries in high velocity markets is established.
- A single Tannery is established at a central place to grow a goat leather value chain for the whole country.
Road Map
2013: Registration of Trust
2013-2015: Research of the appropriate model
2015► Membership drive
2016► Breeding stock Build-up. FEG Trust acknowledges that the national goat herd of 4.7 million goats is not sustainable. Before full scale slaughter begins, there is need to aggressively increase the breeding stock both in terms of quantity and quality.
2018► Abattoir development, slaughter trials and Franchise development
2019► Full scale slaughter
2020► By-products value addition
The Driving Team
DAVET MUZWIDZWA: Trust chairperson. A visionary innovator with vast experience in start-ups. Holder of a Master of Commerce Degree in Business Administration. A value chain engineer expert. At a proposal stage of a DPhil focusing on value chain commercialisation.
MRS NOREA GUTU: Chairperson Northern Region Cluster. A results oriented goat farmer and motivated self-driven individual. Very committed to the commercialisation of the Zimbabwean goat
MRS SITHULISIWE MOKUELE: Chairperson Southern Region Cluster. A carrier administrator, and very motivated individual committed to the commercialisation of the Zimbabwean goat
MR BENJAMIN CHARLES NYAMWEDA: Chairperson, South Eastern Region Cluster. A very motivated goat farmer and administrator committed to the commercialisation of the Zimbabwean goat.
Current Challenges
Farmers Economic Growth Trust is facing the following challenges;
- Lack of resources to import good male genetic stock from either South Africa or Namibia on a cost recovery basis.
- Lack of training resources for farmers in commercial goat husbandry, business management and value chain management.
- Construction of three abattoirs one in each cluster on a BOT or any cost recovery arrangement
Synergies
Farmers Economic Growth Trust is seeking synergies with Government Departments, Private Companies and NGOs in our pursuit to commercialise the Zimbabwean goat not in an ordinary way, but in a way that benefit the farmer under the Value Chain Business Model.
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