The Sunday Mail
Now more than ever, innovation is required for Zimbabwe’s agriculture sector to thrive. This is especially so considering the dry spells of the past summer season that saw a significant proportion of crops failing, dashing high hopes for a bumper harvest.
Many farmers are in a quandary as they ponder how to repay loans and inputs accessed under contract farming systems, as well as honouring wages.
Financial institutions know no drought. They are pressing farmers to pay what they owe even as the nation counts the costs of a bad season that has seen Government say the country will have to import 700 000 tonnes of grain to avert hunger.
Even “easier” farming projects such as poultry have been hit hard by the relatively high costs of stock-feeds and vaccines.
Some farmers have turned to “roadrunner” chickens as they try to turn around their fortunes. Zimbabwe’s “roadrunner” is not the Geococcyx californianus, that fleet-footed bird of the American southwest.
Rather, it is a colloquialism for the traditional/organic/free range chicken which does not require huge capital outlays and have higher returns. Aaron Shamu, chair of the Zimbabwe Road Runners Association, says people all over Zimbabwe are going for the hardy roadrunner.
The association was formed in early 2015 and has a 250-strong membership that is likely to grow exponentially as interest in the birds rises. Shamu keeps his roadrunners in Dema, where 3 000 birds at different stages of maturity are being bred and where interested people can come and learn the trade. Armed with a post-graduate degree in Sustainability Management from a German institution, believes indigenous farmers can revolutionise this sub-sector of poultry production.
The different varieties of roadrunners available in Zimbabwe include the Rhodes Island, Boschveld and quail, among others.
Shamu recommends the Rhodes Island type because it lays more eggs than other varieties, in addition to growing bigger (up to 4kg when fully mature) than its cousins.
The Boschveld are a cross-breed of the Nambian, South African and Zimbabwean birds, and they too can guarantee a decent return. This breed also lays many eggs and is resistant to diseases like Newcastle.
These birds thrive on natural foods; eating leftovers from the family table, sorghum, rapoko, vegetables and insects. And with growing local demand for traditional foods, roadrunners have a ready market with restaurants across the country.
“We have a huge market for roadrunners, and at times we fail to meet demand. At times an individual farmer gets an order of 3 000 birds which he or she cannot meet.
“To avoid this we decided to form this association which brings us together so that when that happens we call each other and bring the birds together to supply as one entity rather than as individuals,” Shamu explains. But these are not necessarily easy to rear, when compared to broilers.
While it takes six weeks for a broiler farmer to start selling birds, the roadrunner farmer requires 16 weeks to get a fully grown-up bird weighing between 3-4kg. As with other chickens, the farmer must dose the birds against infection.
Supplements in terms of food are welcome, and Shamu says farmers can use layers mash to enhance egg production. The hens are kept with the cocks for fertilisation purposes. For the birds to multiply quickly, farmers must pick eggs every day and send them so that the hens lay more. Shamu adds that besides roadrunner meat being organic, it is also highly nutritious.
