THE Meat Corporation of Namibia (Meatco) has been urged to participate in animal auctions in northern communal areas (NCA) to help create a market with competitive prices for farmers in the area.
The call was made yesterday by George Haufiku of the Harambee Communal Auctioneers, who conducted an animal auction at Sikaduko Kraals and Auction Pens at Rundu in the Kavango East region on Saturday.
He says the auction recorded a limited number of buyers and Meatco – as a state-owned meat processing and marketing entity, should participate in these animal auctions to help increase the number of buyers and to trigger competitive animal prices.
Haufiku, who is an official in the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform, says at the moment Meatco is not participating in NCA animal auction as a buyer, but sends their procurement team to individual rural farmers to buy cattle from them at an un-competitive prices.
He says these farmers are called ‘Meatco’s Farmers’.
“How will they improve animal prices within the NCA if they are not participating at animal auctions organised by farmers in the NCA?” Haufiku asks.
He says Meatco needs to participate in these auctions and that they have active abattoirs in the NCA, such as at Rundu, Eenhana, Katima Mulilo and Outapi.
He says the Sikanduko auction generated an encouraging turnover of over N$1 million, but that there were few buyers. He says a majority of the cattle were bought by one buyer, the private operator of the Musese Green Scheme in the Kavango West region, Winni Metzger.
Haufiku says 145 cattle were brought to the auction, of which 138 cattle were sold. The highest price of N$15 000 went to a young bull and the lowest price of N$3 800 was fetched by a female calf.
Haufiku says 24 goats were brought to the auction and from these 12 were sold.
“We had a good number of sellers, about 30 farmers predominantly from the Kavango East region,” says Haufiku.
All two sheep brought for auction were sold.
Meacto head of corporate affairs Rosa Thobia told The Namibian on Thursday that the company has a Meatco NCA livestock procurement channel and commodity-based trade (CBT) compliance consideration, where livestock are procured through three primary channels, namely permit days, on farm purchases and direct deliveries.
“Following the purchase, the animals are transported to a quarantine camp where they undergo the required CBT compliance process for a minimum period of 30 days,” said Thobias.
She said this process applies to on-farm purchases, where Meatco procures cattle directly that comply with the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccination requirements.
“For both permit and on-farm purchases, cattle are bought on a live-weight basis, according to the Meatco price schedule and animal categories,” said Thobias.
She said procuring animals at auctions in the NCA presents a significant challenge to Meatco in meeting CBT requirements as in many cases, the FMD vaccination status of an animal is unknown or cannot be verified at the time of purchase.
She said where the vaccination status is unknown, animals must be quarantined for an extended period of 51 to 58 days.
She said the extended quarantine periods increase holding costs, reduce capacity in the quarantine camp and delay market readiness of animals.
