SOUTHERN Province provincial veterinary officer Charles Maseka has called on government to come up with different brands to curb stock theft in the country.
Dr Maseka who made the call during a meeting with Special assistant to the President Project Implementation Lucky Mulusa in Choma at weekend said stock theft was a big challenge in the province hence his call to introduce unique brands for cattle for each district and should include the province’s initials.
Dr Maseka said there was need to have a lawful brand that would help reduce stock theft which should be decentralised and availed to key stakeholders.
“Stock theft was a challenge in the province it will be important to come with unique brands for each district,” he said.
He said they had a working relationship with the Police who despite their challenges of transport were trying to fight stock theft.
He said Southern Province had one million and two hundred thousand herds of cattle which was about one third of the cattle in the country which translates to U$240 million dollars.
He said the herds of cattle was a multi-million project which require a lot of investment as it can help to contribute to the country economy and appealed to government to help market the livestock industry.
He commended government for the efforts it was making towards the vaccination of the livestock.
Meanwhile Dr Maseka appealed to government to set up abattoirs in various areas because there was usually stock movement between Sesheke and Livingstone which becomes a danger whenever there is a disease out break.
“There’s no abattoir in Sesheke and they can only access the one in Livingstone this is a challenge as it can spread disease,” he said.
Mr Mulusa demanded for a concept note from Dr Maseka which he would present to government.
What Dr.Maseka is proposing is way beyond the comprehension of PF. Edgar and his running mate Mumbi Phiri cannot understand this. There is a lot we can do internally without having to seek donor aid and that is what HH brings to the table–strategic thinking
This is truly laughable…we have so many empty suits on govt payroll…surely they dont teach such at NRDC?
@Obatala Lungu I dis agree with Dr Ma as he is talking about the cattle industry being only a $240 million dollar business! The solution he is proposing is like killing a fly with a hammer! Yes you will kill the fly but you would have shattered the windows! Simple solutions such as electronic tagging, animal passport (a record of birth and death), introducing inspectors as in monitoring traffic! We already have tough rustling laws. In Canada I went to a multi million Dollar dairy farm with over 5,000 cows run by a man, his wife and 3 children!
@ MB: You are actually the one trying to kill a fly with hammer. Electronic tagging for peasant farmer owned cattle (most own less than 30 heads per family) in Sesheke/Shang’ombo, animal passports in a country that struggles to issue NRC’s let alone issue birth certificates to its human population? How cost effective is adopting technolgy for 5000 heads of cattle on a confined ranch to thosaands of sq km land of poor peasant farmer owned cattle with hundreds of bush paths. Who will pay for this? Appropriate technology baba! How long have u been in Canada?
Southern only has one third of cattle countrywide. And some hydiots here claim has 3/4 animals in Zambia. Seely hydiots.
Comment:Branding with specific markings for each province may be a better option. Introducing new breeds for each province may work only with very strict control, otherwise there may be cross breeding with existing cattle which will not solve the problem in the long run. Furthermore exotic breeds of cattle may be prone to diseases compared to indigenous breeds.
Charles is talking BIG sense. Zambia should invest in cattle and other livestock because the market is very big. Get those un employed youths and teach them skills in livestock rearing, give them loans to acquire animals and they will say bye to poverty and criminality. YOU NEED political will for this.
Dr. Maseka can explain his ideas better if given a chance. Mulusa, invite this man and all stakeholders to Mulungushi conference centre so that he can explain more, mot the concept note you are talking about!