…minimum number of birds per site rises to 60K
By ETimes
| Irvine’s Zimbabwe, a poultry and egg producer, has raised the minimum number of chickens for contract growing to 60 000, making small-scale farmers ineligible to participate in the program. Many medium- and large-scale farmers in Zimbabwe have entered the poultry-rearing industry thanks to Irvine’s Zimbabwe contract grower scheme. In addition to helping meet consumer demand for chicken, contract growers have helped the economy thrive and create jobs. Under the new requirements for broiler contract growing, Irvine’s Zimbabwe said: “Minimum number of birds per site: 60,000 birds (30,000 birds per pen). Site must be at least 10 hectares. Radius from Harare: 100kms. Site must be at least 7km from other poultry/piggery rearing sites”. “Site must have adequate water supply; back up storage of portable water. Site must be isolated from residential stands, small plots and rural setup.” It said poultry houses are to be constructed according to Irvine’s set standard. “Minimum standard of equipment: Automated poultry equipment for feed, water and heating. Site must be easily accessible from the Main Highway: all weather access road. Owner having Immovable property to declare as Contract collateral / Security,” said the company, adding that details of costs/payment structures are provided to those meeting the minimum requirements. When a farmer signs a contract with Irvine’s Zimbabwe to raise broiler chickens for the business, that arrangement is known as contract raising chickens for Irvine’s Zimbabwe (IZIM). After raising broilers for a predetermined amount of time, the grower delivers them to Irvine’s, and the site rests while cleaning and disinfecting is done. The day-old chicks, feed, transportation for the day-old chicks, feed, collection of the birds for slaughter, vaccines, medications, cleaning agents, and technical know-how are all provided by Irvine’s Zimbabwe, while the grower is responsible for the infrastructure, labor, and sourcing of the inputs for the period when the birds are being raised. From the time of reception until delivery to Irvine’s, the grower is in charge of the birds’ performance. Innscor’s protein division earned an operating profit of ZWL$23.5 billion for its financial year ended 30 June 2022 after revenues increased by 44% to $92.9 billion. In the segment’s divisions, Colcom registered sales volume growth of 11%. Irvines recorded 6% growth in table egg volumes, 17% growth in frozen poultry and 25% growth in day-old chicks while AMP reported sales volume growth of 16%. During the financial year, the group added a further 8 outlets to its Texas retail network to bring the total countrywide count to 53 stores – Harare |