AWARD-winning South Africa-based Zimbabwean Boer goat breeder and exporter, Mr Ntandoyenkosi Ndhlovu, says his dream to expand his business footprint is unstoppable as he now targets the entire Southern African market and beyond.
Amid the growing demand for goat meat and the adoption of cross-breeding technologies to grow the goat population, Mr Ndhlovu (36), who owns Gatsheni Boer Goat Stud in South Africa, says there is scope for higher earnings in the livestock sector.
Growing up in Beitbridge, Matabeleland South province, where he developed a love for goat farming at a tender age, the youthful farmer had little appreciation then of what this passion would take him to.
Graduating from Midlands State University in 2016 as an agricultural economist boldened his burning desire to put his dream into practice.
While he joined the Municipality of Beitbridge as an assistant farm manager, he never lost focus on goat farming as he continued to run his personal farming projects.
Today, Mr Ndhlovu’s dream has blossomed as he has carved a niche for himself at home and abroad with a vision to impact the whole of Africa through livestock production.
Despite animal disease outbreaks, which affected his business last year as he was not able to export his goats to some countries due to restrictive measures, his passion for goat breeding has earned him the trust of a wider market within Southern Africa.
“We want to assist farmers to improve and recently there is a growing demand for goat meat,” said Mr Ndhlovu.
“The best way to achieve good carcass weight, weaning weight, and birth weight is through breeding using Boer goats, Kalahari, and Savana bucks with our indigenous goats for us to achieve desirable weights that will catch us high returns for our investments,” he told Business Chronicle.
“We look forward to working with farmers, especially in Africa and we want to link up with the markets in Asia. When we arrived in Malawi with the Boer goats in December, farmers were very happy and I was told that I’m the first black person to bring Boer goats to Malawi and that was a milestone for us.”
Mr Ndhlovu said there is huge potential for Boer goats production in Malawi, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and other African countries.
“We are growing even though we still have a lot of challenges but the dream is big, we are looking forward to expanding our market to other countries like Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Mozambique, and Botswana,” he said.
Given that goat breeding is a serious business, minimising the cost of doing business and increasing profits, is paramount, said Mr Ndlovu.
There is a need for farmers to produce their own stock feed following the rise in prices for feed following loadshedding, which has increased the cost of doing business to producers, he adds.
“The prices for stock feeds have gone up due to a number of factors including loadshedding, Russo-Ukrainian war, and climate change, which affect us directly,” said Mr Ndlovu.
“So, I encourage farmers that if they are to embark on commercial production, they have to produce their own feeds.”
The youthful entrepreneur also urged farmers to produce the best quality breeds, which will create trust in the market.
Mr Ndhlovu also breeds Anatolian Shepherd dogs, that take care of goats when they go to the pastures and guard them during the night.
He said last year before delivering goats to his Malawi market, Gatsheni Boer Goat Stud attended the trade fair, which was held in Malawi together with other Zimbabwean entrepreneurs after he was invited by the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small, and Medium Enterprises Development. – The Chronicle
