Relief for communal farmers

Meatco’s N$5-million Mobile Slaughter Unit (MSU) arrived in Windhoek last week and was presented to stakeholders during an open day at its Windhoek factory. The MSU truck which was manufactured and assembled in the USA and is tailored to the unique conditions of Namibia’s communal producers in the Northern Communal Areas (NCA), will bring slaughtering services closer to farmers in that area. According to Meatco, the company continues to maintain its statutory obligation as prescribed by the Meat Act while addressing operational losses that have been accrued in running the northern abattoirs that were not economically viable. The unit slaughters 25 cattle per day, roughly 100 per week, 400 cattle per month, and a maximum of 4 800 per year.Meatco’s lease agreement to manage the NCA abattoirs on behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry (MAWF) expired on 4 March this this year. In October 2015, Meatco gave notice to the MAWF informing them that it would not extend the agreement, due to the huge losses Meatco and its producers incurred in the NCA for the last 23 years.However, the Meatco board made it clear that it will retain its presence in the NCA but by way of a new business model whereby it can deliver a service to producers in the NCA.The MSU targets the local market and therefore the products will only be for local consumption. The unit complies with all health regulations and is registered as a C-class abattoir.According to Meatco, one of the advantages of the MSU will be reducing transport cost for producers.The MSU will visit pre-established central points in the regions for the first 12 months. This means the abattoir goes to farms and producers who do not have to transport cattle over long distances. The first slaughter will be at Mutambo Ribebe Quarantine camp, situated 50km west of Rundu. This means farmers in the Kavango area will no longer have to transport their animals over 550km to slaughter them in Oshakati.The MSU will also create local employment. Only core slaughter staff will be employed while the fixed-term seasonal support staff will be recruited in the villages where slaughtering will take place, thus creating local employment.This will stimulate entrepreneurship while all offal will be sold directly to villagers and to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) under the supervision of the Meatco Foundation.According to Meatco, it will reduce operational costs and the MSU costs a fraction of current fixed abattoirs.In case of future outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease, the first option will be to move the MSU to another region within the NCA.The trailer consists of a mechanical room, cooling room, carcass splitting area, eviscerating area, hide pulling area and a bleeding area. The MSU has a storage tank for waste water and blood. Waste water is disposed at a sewerage treatment plant or spread on pasture.The on-board waste water treatment system treats used water. Environmentally-friendly chemicals will be used to clean the unit’s slaughter area.STAFF REPORTER

Relief for communal farmers

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-09

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Relief for communal farmers

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-09

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