Launch of Custom Feeding Programme in Amathole district and Cattle Auction at Loverstwist

The Eastern Cape Red Meat Project’s Custom Feeding Programme was officially launched on 11 June 2008. It served as a training seminar for local farmers, giving them clear practical examples and advice about how to produce a marketable animal. The launch was very well attended, with representatives from national, provincial and local departments of agriculture, the Agricultural Research Councl (ARC) and the National Agricultural Marketing Council (NAMC). In addition, farmer delegations from the Northern Cape, Alfred Nzo District and OR Tambo district attended.

The role of the Custom Feeding Programme in the Eastern Cape Red Meat Project

The Eastern Cape Red Meat Project (ECRMP) aims to improve the livelihoods of communal and emerging livestock farmers through a combined approach of assisting them to attain better market access, and to produce more marketable animals.

The Custom Feeding Programme is one component of the ECRMP. It aims to replicate, in a low-cost and accessible manner, the benefits of a concentrated animal feeding operation. Farmers will place suitable animals in the programme for a period of around 90 days, during which time the animals are fed a concentrate-based diet. At the end of the feeding period the animals are sold directly to an abattoir. The CFP is a risk-based programme for the participating farmers, but offers them the opportunity to earn a significantly higher income from their animals.

When the ECRMP was originally conceived, the CFP was seen as a late-project component: That is, the thinking was that a lot of other ‘preparatory’ work would have to be done with farmers around issues such as animal health, market operations, etc., before they would be in a position to appreciate the benefits of the CFP, and therefore be happy to participate in a risk-based programme.

The pilot Custom feeding Programme was implemented in April 2008 in the Amathole district where the ECRMP has been running for some three years. The reception of and reaction towards this CFP pilot by local and other communal farmers has indicated that, in fact, the CFP can be a very important early-project component.

The reception has been overwhelmingly positive, and the programme clearly has caught the imagination of farmers and local authorities. A significant number of farmers and farmer delegations have visited the pilot project site. Contrary to our initial expectations, all these visitors immediately understand the concept and the associated risks of the CFP. They all buy into the potential advantages for themselves.

As a result of this reception, our current thinking is that the timing of the implementation of the CFP in other areas where the ECRMP is being rolled out should be reviewed. This has particular implications for OR Tambo and Umzimvubu (Mt Frere), both of which sent delegations to the official Custom Feeding Programme launch on 11 June.

One of the challenges that livestock farmers benefiting from the Eastern Cape Red Meat Project face is producing high-quality livestock in a pasture-based feeding system, and with very limited resources and knowledge at their disposal. The ECRMP has therefore designed and implemented a Custom Feeding Programme (CFP). The premise of the CFP is simple – if suitable animals can be fed a higher value diet over a 90-day period, they can realise a substantially higher price at sale. The CFP offers a pooled solution for farmers that do not have the knowledge or resources to implement such an intensive feeding scheme themselves.

Farmers bring suitable young stock to the CFP, where the animals are clearly marked so that they can be identified. The animals remain in the programme for 90 days, receiving ever-increasing amounts of concentrate feed. At the end of this period, they are sold to an abattoir. Each animal receives a particular price, based on the grade and weight of the carcass.

ComMark makes it easier for farmers to participate in the CFP by paying for all the inputs (feed, vaccinations, etc.) from its own account. However, each participating farmer understands that his share of the expenses incurred will be deducted from any sale proceeds before he receives a payment. In this way, the project is self-funding – ComMark is not giving these farmers a hand-out, merely a more accessible way of producing a high-value animal. If an animal dies during its stay in the CFP, the cost is entirely for the farmer's account.

The site for the CFP has been made available by one of the local farmers, Mr. Manjezi. The construction of the feeding pens has been done as cheaply as possible, making use of local and scrap materials.

The first 85 head of cattle arrived in the CFP in April 2008. Already we have seen a quite remarkable positive response from local farmers and agriculture officials. We have even had a visit from a farmers' delegation from Kenya! The low-tech and accessible nature of the construction, the day-to-day involvement of the Philani Farmers Association in the running of the CFP, and the remarkable improvement in the condition of the resident animals have all contributed to a high level of excitement in many communities.

Future activities for the CFP:

• Run a second and third pilot programme in the Amathole district, probably from August 2008.
• Ensure that the Philane Farmers Association is able to take over the running of the CFP themselves by mid-2009.
• Implement a pilot CFP in O.R. Tambo and in Alfred Nzo district municipalities before the end of 2008.

Download the Custom Feeding Programme brochure (currently only available in IsiXhosa).