Roadrunner chickens a low hanging fruit: Shamu
Nevanji Munyaradzi Chiondegwa
Indigenous chickens or free-range poultry colloquially referred to as ‘road runners’ are among the most low hanging fruits and quick wins in the endeavour to a an economic turn around and empowering of the people.
These sentiments were aired by Dr Aaron Golden Shamu, the chairperson of Zimbabwe Free range Poultry Association, a grouping of nearly 500 indigenous chicken farmers who won a tender to provide chickens to households around Zimbabwe under the Presidential Poultry Scheme.
He was speaking during a live interactive session on ZANU PF Patriots, a social media group.
Dr Shamu said, “As an association we have mobilised 492 producer farmers who supply eggs and chicks on a weekly basis.
These guys have created over 2000 jobs as they have to produce weekly with every producer employing on average 2 or more helpers. Then we brood the birds, vaccinate them then distribute to all the beneficiaries countrywide. To date our production is now 80 000 birds per week.”
“The impact of giving 10 birds per every household is such a low hanging fruit to the masses and while the country has mega projects, addressing the nutritional and household income meeds at grassroots level is of paramount importance and the President, HE ED Mnangagwa is doing that,” said Dr Shamu.
He said the space to provide climate resilient birds( chickens) had for long been left to Non-Governmental Organisations who he described as not always friendly to the Harare government.
The people had thus been feeling disconnected to the government. Their association has now come in to fill he void after President Mnangagwa introduced the programme.
Though they have been operating in villages all over the country., with little or no media coverage they are winning the hearts of the people who the donor community were trying to sway away with the same project
He said, “Right now our retail is dominated by convectional birds favouring the western front. 80% of the cost of raising broilers is on feed .
There are less than 10 companies ( 80%) whites supplying broiler chicks and feed on our market. We consume 7-9 million chickens a month as a country.
Yet we have never had stats of how many free range chickens are in this great consumption pattern. Now HE introduced Rural poultry program so that our own people become producers.”
The business model that has seen over 30 000 households benefit will see the beneficiaries become primary producers and the Association will provide a market. Dr Shamu’s dream is to see the healthier and more nutritious free range chickens in Zimbabwean supermarkets at a cheaper and more affordable price.
Dr Shame said the association was formed not as a response to the on the Presidential Poultry Scheme program but rather existed before and was only given a chance to empower others.
He said that the Association won the tender and then organized the farmers to support the government initiative. They gathered all free range poultry farmers from around the country. Some bring in 20 or 50 or 1000 producer birds.
These are the first beneficiaries since they are primary producers. The second ones are those who are receiving birds now and they will be integrated as producers as their birds start laying.
Dr Shamu said they have so far given birds to Masvingo, Midlands, Manicaland, Matebeleland North and South, Bulawayo and Mashonaland Central.
“We are targeting to distribute 200000 per week from November, God willing over 100 000 households should have benefited by December 2022,” he said.
The association, he said, was intent on aggregating the produce and create a constant supply and added that the commercialisation of free range chickens can be a game changer.
They can be raised from anywhere hence NGOs are operating in very remote places giving birds. The birds can feed on anything, they offer a better protein source and also can crate a stream of income for the people.
“When you spend time with the rural Cdes in their thousands, when they spend time to receive just 10 birds with the hope that this can change their livelihoods, we need to amplify this. And remember we guard our strongholds jealously. Chamisa haaiti musangano paWard 11 Sipambi never. Why don’t we amplify our pro-rural projects Cdes,” said Dr Shamu.
He further said, “ZANU PF have been loosing in urban areas yet we spend time trying to please these urbanites when our real vote comes from those who do not take time to understand economics. They are worried about bread and butter issues. Empower and consolidate our strongholds first”.
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