Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. THE National Competitiveness Commission (NCC) and dairy farmers have raised concerns over burdensome taxes and regulations, which are crippling production, with several operators struggling to stay afloat.
NCC director Brighton Shayanewako, who spoke at the launch of the NCC dairy findings in Harare yesterday, said compliance requirements, such as the need for over 26 permits to start operations, have become a major obstacle for the growth of the sector.
“The issue now is that farmers have to comply with so many permits and taxes, we have got about 26 permits and these are from the Agricultural Marketing Authority, local authorities and so on. The unfortunate thing is that there is no communication at these various regulatory authorities. So the cost impact on farmers are on the high side,” he said.
“I think costs need to be monitored. When we are looking at the costs incurred by the farmer, they are much, for example, stock feed, labour, packaging, just to mention a few.”
Zimbabwe dairy sector has been battling challenges over the years, which have been threatening its viability.
According to the NCC, the dairy sector employs more than 30 000 people directly and more than 1,3 million indirectly, showing the importance and impact of the sector to the country’s economic growth.
The sector has a capacity of producing over 115 million litres per annum, down from over 200 million litres at its peak.
Farmers raised concerns over the implementation of the Dairy Act, saying it has negatively impacted production by introducing additional taxes and regulatory burdens that are hurting the sector.
According to the Statutory Instrument SI 129 of 2017, farmers pay US$0,01 per every litre produced, while government requires farmers to pay 5% diary development levy.
Meanwhile, the government has urged stakeholders in the dairy farming sector to create linkages that can help boost milk production in the country.
Chief director in the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Pius Makaya, said value addition was key for the sector.
“This initiative is not just about production it is about value addition, innovation and collaboration,” he said
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