Southern farmers criticise meat industry

Several communal farmers from southern Namibia last week criticised an apparent lack of support for farming from the government and large players in the meat industry.

During the Southern Namibia Farmers' Union (Snafu) congress on Thursday and Friday, farmers said state-owned entities such as the Meat Board of Namibia and Meat Corporation of Namibia (Meatco) were neglecting small-scale farmers. “Meatco especially seems to be entirely commercially driven, with no attempts to develop programmes geared specifically at including communal farmers,” farmer Mose Gariseb said. He said Meatco's absence from the Hardap and //Karas regions was evidence of its failure to represent all farming groups in the country.

“When will the time come for us poor farmers to benefit from programmes that not only help those who already have, but also those who work their fingers to the bone to make a living every single day?” said Gariseb. Farmer Johannes Jansen said the meat industry emphasised cattle farming to the detriment of small-stock farming in the southern regions. He said goat farmers were left to scavenge for a spot in the local informal markets.

Meatco's senior manager for stakeholder relations, Lapitomhinda Hashingola, agreed that the company's focus was on beef exports and urged the farmers to explore opportunities to join this lucrative market. “If you want to be on the pitch, you have to be a player,” he said. Meatco is an industry leader in beef exports, generating revenue of N$1.8 billion in 2016. The company exports more than 74% of its beef to foreign markets.

Hashingola said Meatco was discussing plans to acquire a second mobile slaughtering unit for use south of the veterinary cordon fence and to establish a feedlot in the Hardap Region that could be of benefit to southern farmers.

Meatco currently operates a mobile slaughter unit for farmers in the northern parts of the country.

Meat Board chief marketing officer Desmond Cloete concurred that the export market for goats was small compared to sheep and cattle, but similarly urged the farmers to make use of existing and future opportunities for growth.

“There is a slaughter market available through Brukkaros Meat Processors outside Keetmanshoop and southern farmers are closer to the South African export market,” he said. Cloete encouraged the farmers to investigate how they could benefit, possibly through feedlots at the future Neckartal Irrigation Scheme expected to become operational in the coming year.

Snafu is affiliated to the Namibia National Farmers' Union and groups about 28 farmers' associations in the Hardap and //Karas regions.

NAMPA