Sinokubonga Nkala
Judith Phiri, Business Reporter
GOAT farmers in Matobo District, Matabeleland South Province are lamenting the widespread plastic ingestion by livestock in the face of lack pastures because of the devastating drought, saying that has led to lower quality grades of the meat and subsequently poor prices on the market.
In Zimbabwe, goats are classified into four categories — super goat, choice goat, standard goat, and inferior goat — based on various criteria, and the impact of plastic consumption is affecting their ability to achieve higher grades.
In an interview, Mr Reginald Ncube of Malilima Private Limited said due to the increase in plastics found in their area, their livestock farming businesses has been affected.
“As a company we are into goats buying, breeding and selling, but we have witnessed that most of the goats from here at St Joseph’s Mission area are graded as inferior goats. This is because just like other livestock such as cattle and donkeys, the goats are being affected by eating plastics,” he said.
Due to the deteriorating quality of grazing land, livestock are more susceptible to eating plastic due to their curious and indiscriminate feeding habits as they tend to nibble on a wide variety of objects while exploring their surroundings.
Mr Ncube said when they take the goats to the abattoirs in Bulawayo on most cases the goats are graded inferior and on few cases as standard, resulting in them getting lower prices when they sell the meat.
When farmers take their livestock to abattoirs for slaughter, the carcasses are graded and classified to ensure that the meat is correctly graded and to facilitate marketing and trade.
“Most of the time when the goats are cut up open, their stomachs will be filled with plastics. This is a serious challenge we are faced with. As a company, we have resorted to buying goats from far away places but this affects us on logistics and costs. However, this is the only option we have to ensure we can also get super and choice grades of goats,” he said.
Livestock specialist, farmer and newspaper columnist, Mr Mhlupheki Dube said livestock ingesting unusual objects such as plastics was a sign of mineral deficiency.
“Mineral deficiency in an animal’s diet usually happens during the dry season. So the animal system is such that it can detect that it is now short of phosphorus (an essential mineral for animal health and development) or calcium, it then goes out looking for sources of calcium,” he said.
“In the process, it picks strange objects such as sandals, chewing dresses on the laundry line and so forth. It is not a disease per se, it’s a condition called pica where animals will start picking on unusual objects which do not constitute the diet of the animal.”
He said this could be corrected by providing a supplementary mineral block, which could be a phosphorus licking block among others.
Mr Dube said the effects of livestock ingestion of plastics resulted in tampered digestive tracts as some of the materials ingested are not bio-degradable in the rumen of the animal.
Meanwhile, avid goat breeder and Goat Breeders Association of Zimbabwe chairperson Mrs Sifiso Agbetorwoka is on record stating that goat breeding has a lucrative future and encouraging people to also consider venturing into the industry.
During various goat breeding masterclass training programmes conducted at her Bulembe Farm in Fort Rixon, Matabeleland South Province, she has highlighted that goat breeding has the potential to significantly contribute towards the overall economic growth in the country with the global demand for goat meat on a continued upward trend.
According to Industry Trends and Forecast 2031, the Global Goat Meat market is anticipated to rise at a considerable rate between 2024 and 2031.
An increase in demand for goat meat therefore offers small-scale farmers in semi-arid Zimbabwe opportunities for increased market participation.
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