Published January 23, 2009 08:08
Meatco Namibia on Monday, 19 January 2009 officially handed over N$10 000 to the 2008 Delivery Agreement Lucky Draw winner, Mr. Niklaas Mberirua. The N$10 000 Delivery Agreement Lucky Draw-campaign served to generate interest into slaughtering procedures to Meatco and was run for two years (2007 & 2008).
To qualify for the draw, farmers south of the Veterinary Cordon Fence (VCF) therefore had to sign a Delivery Agreement with the company and deliver on it once, while farmers north of the red line had to slaughter at least one animal at any of the two factories here.
Meatco Delivery Agreements have various benefits for the cattle farmer. If the farmer meets 90% of his/her quota, he/she qualifies for cash incentives. Deliveries of 100% plus 10% plus 36 cattle also qualify for the premium of 80 cents per kilogram. Furthermore, it secures the farmer a slaughter date and assists them with production and marketing planning. Delivery Agreements also helps Meatco with its operational planning.
Mr. Mberirua was one of 2 727 cattle farmers who were automatically entered into the lucky draw simply by taking the first step in marketing cattle to Meatco. This included 928 producers south of the VCF and 1 799 north thereof.
Mr. Mberirua is a weekend farmer who farms with Brahman-Simmentalers some 90 kilometres north east of Outjo on farm Dempsey. He also owns a small Simbra stud and being an instructor at the Windhoek Vocational Centre, he and his wife, Christa, drives out to the farm at least every second weekend.
He is an Affirmative Action farmer and is now farming on Dempsey for the ninth year. Before then, he used to farm with his father. Today, his cattle herd stands at 430, which includes his cows and weaners. He plans to be on the farm full-time by 2011.
He started marketing to Meatco in 2007 and delivered 16 cattle during 2008. Having been weaner producer before then, Mr. Mberirua says he is very happy with the prices he is receiving at Meatco and says he would now advise any farmer to think twice before deciding on a production system.
“One should also try to add value to your animals. Remember, speculators come and buy your weaners, rear them into slaughter cattle and sell them at a profit.”
He noted that kilograms make an immense difference and that is why he has decided to add to his prize money and buy an electronic scale. At the moment, he loads his cattle for slaughter based on estimated weights. Once he acquires an electronic scale, he will be able to better plan with regard to the animals he loads to Meatco and the income they could generate for him.
Entry into the lucky draw differed slightly between producers north and south of the red line because Meatco does not offer delivery agreements for producers in the Northern Communal Areas (NCA). This is because the traditional ways of cattle farming that is still followed in these areas does not allow for the agreement system to be ideally implemented.
The N$10 000 lucky draw took place on 19 January 2009 and was audited by KPMG.
From left to rightFrom left to right is Meatco’s Senior Manager: Corporate Communication, Mrs. Mary Hansen, Mrs. Christa and Mr. Niklaas Mberirua (co-farmers of farm Dempsey), Meatco CEO, Mr. Kobus du Plessis and Meatco’s Senior Manager: Procurement, Mr. Vehaka Tjimune. Photo: Monja Viljoen