The ManicaPost
Samuel Kadungure
Senior Reporter
A POULTRY project which has become an integral part of farming in Makoni is under threat following an acrimonious land dispute between the proprietor and a boarding school dating back to 2016.
The project started in 2009 with 100 broilers and sits on three hectares.
The dispute is now before the Manicaland provincial lands committee, chaired by the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Honourable Nokuthula Matsikenyere.
The minister recently toured the project which belongs to Mr Simon Mangani, who erected eight fowl runs with a capacity to hold 5 000 birds each.
Minister Matsikenyere was impressed by the scale of production.
Currently, there are 20 000 layers with an 80 percent production rate.
Mr Mangani collects about 16 000 eggs, which translates to 500 crates per day.
The farm employees 14 permanent and six casual workers from the community – spread across the poultry feed mill, cleaning, feeding, collecting, grading, packing and distribution of eggs.
“There are 20 000 birds that are laying eggs. The facility can hold up to 40 000 birds. We are picking 16 000 eggs daily. The plan is to leave the layer unit as a stand-alone and diversify into broilers, turkey and duck production at a commercial scale. We grew it from 100 broilers to 20 000 birds and the next step is to double the flock to 40 000. The target is 80 000 layers and 50 000 broilers,” he said.
But the land dispute is giving him sleepless nights.
“The layer unit is sitting on the boundary with Mavhudzi High School and some people want it destroyed. They are saying it encroached into the school’s land. That is the challenge. We cannot destroy such an investment. That will be anti-development,” said Mr Mangani.
Speaking after a tour of the project, Minister Matsikenyere said: “I noted during my tour that highly productive farmers are either renting land or embroiled in land disputes, which must be resolved harmoniously to allow productivity to go on.”
Mavhudzi High headmistress, Ms Violet Dube was not readily available for a comment.
However, Makoni District Development Coordinator (DDC), Mr Edwin Mashindi said the land belongs to the school which consented to the establishment of the project.
“Mr Mangani engaged the school to use the three hectares which are separated by a stream from the rest of the school farm. The land was not being utilised and the school consented to the project as it was expected to benefit their students practically,” he said.
“The school has over 1 000 hectares that is not being utilised, so why target the three hectares that are already under use? That is a highly productive project that cannot be destroyed just like that. There is need to balance their interest and productivity,” he said.
Following the dispute, Mr Mangani stopped plans to expand the project and went on to lease 20 hectares at Abedi Farm in Nyazura where he is paddock-ranging ducks, turkeys and goats as well as growing maize, which he uses to produce his own feed to cut costs.
The feed is made of maize or wheat bran, soya bean and feed additives.
With the exception of additives imported from South Africa, most ingredients are bought soon after harvest when farmers sell their fresh produce at low prices.
“We make our own feed for the whole poultry range because 80 percent of the input costs is feed. This is why we are looking for at least 100 hectares of land. I want to be one of the biggest chicken and eggs suppliers in Manicaland.
“My dream is to produce at a highly efficient commercial scale. We are currently renting 20ha, which is too small, as we end up buying additional maize, yet we have both tillage and irrigation equipment to produce on our own. We need to do more layers and broiler chickens and at least 100ha will enable us to grow enough maize, wheat and soya bean,” he said.
“Customers love ducks and turkeys because they are nutritious, delicious, organic and do not have chemicals injected into them. Butcheries and supermarkets are an untapped market,” he said.
Mr Mangani who relies on third parties for supply of chicks has also invested in a hatchery.
“We bought an incubator with a capacity to hatch 3 000 chicks. The first batch was a disaster. We incubated 800 eggs after three weeks, instead of a week. We are still buying the breeding stock of ducks and turkeys. About 200 ducks and turkeys are laying eggs and we get about 160 eggs,” he said.
