The Sunday Mail
Online Reporter
LANDS, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement deputy Minister Vangelis Haritatos will, on Thursday, officially open a pig artificial insemination (AI) station at Bradford Farm in Chegutu, Mashonaland West Province.
The launch follows the importation of pig breeding stock last year, and the successful completion of the AI station early this year.
Set up at a cost of US$18 000, the station, which was constructed under the Value Chain Alliance for Livestock Upgrading and Empowerment (VALUE) project, is set to facilitate easy and localised access to top quality pig genetics by small and medium pig producers.
The station will also boost pig production.
Among the dignitaries expected at the launch ceremony are, European Union (EU) Ambassador to Zimbabwe Mr Timo Olkkonen and Mashonaland West Province’s Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Mary Mliswa-Chikoka.
The VALUE project is part of an EU-funded Zimbabwe Agricultural Growth Programme (ZAGP), a response to tackle challenges within the country’s livestock sector through financial support from the EU amounting to €40 million.
The project covers Zimbabwe’s 10 provinces and addresses weaknesses and gaps in livestock value chains, which have prevented the sector from increasing production and incomes.
VALUE project team leader, Mr Newton Chari, said the station will go a long way in addressing some of the challenges that are faced by small-scale pig producers.
“The project is tackling system level constraints that have hampered the growth of small and medium pig producers from reaching their full potential. Artificial insemination is a critical step in addressing production level challenges,” he sai
