Livestock farmers in the Zambezi region have called for the reopening of quarantine stations and abattoirs to facilitate the sale of their livestock.
Zambezi Livestock Farmers’ representative Raymond Sezuni noted that with the current drought situation, maintaining many livestock is impractical.
He made these remarks while addressing the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Economics and Public Administration on a visit to government farms, quarantine centres and camps, as well as abattoirs in the Northern Communal Areas.
“Our intention is to offload our animals. We just want the quarantine camps to open. We can’t afford to keep all these animals. Animal feed is expensive, so it’s better to sell the livestock so we get money,” Sezuni said.
He said while farmers had their livestock in quarantine to sell to Meatco abattoirs, Meatco closed the facilities, saying they would be informed when the facilities reopened.
“Meatco did not come back. However, a group of locals came together as the Zambezi Meat Corporation (Zamco), and that is the company that is operating right now,” he said.
Meatco, meanwhile, informed the committee it ceased operations in the Zambezi region due to the lack of a market.
Zamco will only operate until 2025.
The Zambezi region has two quarantine stations – the Kopano quarantine station, situated along the Trans-Caprivi Highway, which is operational, and the Katima Mulilo quarantine station, situated 11 kilometres outside Katima Mulilo.
The 10 000-hectare Katima Mulilo quarantine station has, however, not operated since 2014, as it was vandalised.
Machinery and equipment, such as water troughs, were stolen.
“Firstly, elephants destroyed part of the quarantine station, damaging the fence. Some community members then vandalised the structure and stole machinery. The station was meant to be revamped, but the money was not released – even after a thorough comprehensive report was written and sent to Windhoek,” the chief state veterinarian in Zambezi, Dr Beatrice Shikongo, informed the committee.
He further mentioned fire outbreaks as one of the major challenges at the quarantine stations, as people who burn and sell devil’s claw do so near the stations, leading to further damage.
The parliamentary standing committee is in the Zambezi region, following the submission of a petition to the committee.
-Nampa