Small Animal Holding and Marketing Centre launched in Kalomo district
Kalomo Dairy Cooperative Society (KDDC) recently launched the Small Animal Holding and Marketing center in Kalomo district, of Southern Province.
The facility, developed with technical and financial assistance from Musika and in partnership with Small Agri-business Promotion Program (SAPP), comprises holding pens for small livestock, a loading bay, toilets, shower facilities and shelter for farmers and traders.
Speaking shortly after a conducted tour of the premises on 9th April 2015, Rachael Habeenzu, the Chairperson of the small livestock facility explained that the intervention was an answer to the numerous challenges faced by small scale farmers trading in small livestock.
“We used to conduct our business under a tree by the roadside and would wait long hours to hike for transport to move our animals to Lusaka and Kasumbalesa border. This was very risky especially for us women,” she said.
Habeenzu observed that the center has attracted registered transporters who offer services at the farmer’s ‘doorstep’. Additional services provided by the Government Veterinary Department ensure that farmers obtained legally certified documentation to safely transport their animals.
KDDC Chairman, Jonathan Mweebo, explained that the Center was established as a means to supplement the income raised from the sale of milk.
“Since the center opened in October 2014, we have managed to raise K1, 599.00 by end of March 2015 from the fees that we charge farmers and traders for using these facilities,” he said.
Mweebo explained that the cooperative has embarked on a project to build additional infrastructure including an office block using its own resources raised from the service charges.
Musika provided both technical and financial support to develop and pilot the small livestock service center intervention aimed at promoting open and transparent transactions between livestock buyers and smallholder suppliers, and to also serve as a service center for livestock input suppliers and veterinary service providers.