The objective of the workshop was to help stakeholders in the poultry sector develop strategies to improve the industry. The workshop was attended by 40 participants representing various stakeholders drawn from small and large scale poultry farmers, private and public sector service providers, consumer organisations and policy makers. Opening remarks were delivered by Dr Phiri, FAO Country Representative for Zimbabwe; Mr Zawe, Chairman, ZPA, Dr. Vincent Guyonnet, IEF Technical Advisor; and Dr. Joseph Gondo representing the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development who officially opened the workshop.
During the first day participants listened to presentations from the private poultry sector, government and services providers outlining the characteristics and current challenges of the poultry sector. The Egg consumer panel study commissioned by the International Egg Foundation was also presenting by Ms. Rosemary Mpofu from the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe, demonstrating a need for more consumer education in terms of the nutritional values of eggs. Access to eggs in rural areas was also identified as an issue.
During Module 2 (Sharing of practices), Kevin Lovell, CEO of the South African Poultry Association, presented the approach taken in South Africa to support the needs of both large and small producers. In the closing session of Day 1, the participants were divided into 3 groups (small producers, large producers and service providers) and worked on a SWOT analysis of the Poultry value chain.
During Day 2 participants reported on the SWOT analysis exercise and went into the same 3 groups to work on a vision for the Poultry value chain. Each participant was asked for his own vision for the Poultry section and then each group defined its own vision. The 3 groups reconvened and worked on a shared vision, which was agreed as “A vibrant, competitive and inclusive poultry sector, meeting consumer demand for affordable, safe, quality poultry products in local markets and for export, contributing to food and nutrition security”.
The rest of Day 2 and Day 3 were dedicated to working towards a plan of action, where each of the 3 groups looked at 7 critical elements: policies, dialogue, information, motivation, organisational development, technical capacities and financial services, mapping out the current situation, how the new vision should shape these elements, how to reach this vision, assign roles and responsibilities and order of priorities (1 year, 3 years and 10 years).
Participants agreed that the immediate next steps would be:
1. The outcome of the workshop will be broadly shared and communicated within the country to various constituents: government, large producers, small producers and service providers. A road-show should be considered in provinces (10 provinces in total) currently under-represented within ZPA. ZPA will communicate with government and with senior management of the top 4 Poultry companies and secure their endorsement of the vision for the Poultry sector. ZPA will take the lead for this next step;
2. The Zimbabwe Poultry Association is not viewed as relevant by small poultry farmers and must therefore redefine itself in terms of organisation and structure to ensure it represents the whole Poultry sector. SAPA has agreed to assist the ZPA with this exercise;
3. A 12-month plan of actions with SMART objectives (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-bound) will be proposed;
A report will be compiled by the meeting facilitator, Dr. Simba Sibanda and circulated to the IEF, FAO and ZPA for review by early January 2015. The FAO is committed to continue to support the project and it is hoped that the IEF will also continue to provide support to the project. A mid-term and long term plan of action will be later defined, based on the feedback of participants and constituents.
