MOKOPANE – The Limpopo Poultry Farmers Association (LIPFA) announced during its special general meeting that they secured a market for Limpopo poultry farmers to supply chicken to the local abattoir to the value of R100 million.
About 280 farmers attended the provincial meeting at the Hans van Rensburg Hall last week where Lawrance Mabusela, Spokesperson for LIPFA and keynote speaker, said the deal is the biggest poultry empowerment initiative in the country.
“We are also the first in the country where emerging poultry farmers decided to cut the middleman and take charge of their destiny.
“Our farmers produce between 500 and 45 000 chickens per cycle.
“Together we have production capacity of about 980 000.”
According to the South African Poultry Association (SAPA), LIPFA is the most well-organised formation in the entire country.
Among key developments mentioned at the meeting the establishment of a private company that will be owned and managed by the poultry farmers is being planned.
The Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA) in Waterberg is facilitating the company formation and it will start operating in September.
Mabusela said about 1 350 farmers will benefit as suppliers of chicken and those that cannot be part of the procurement will benefit from the incentive scheme the association had initiated where farmers who are part of the initiative get credit for input costs.
LIPFA will also cluster the farmers and form a buying block through the new company that will negotiate for bulk discounts.
Small backyard poultry farmers will greatly benefit from this venture where they will be able to borrow capital from their own company.
Mabusela further told Bosveld that LIPFA is going to issue 150 000 shares for poultry farmers who want to be part of the project of raising R3 million internally and to make the project successfull with R23 million at the end.
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He explains that they hope to get government grants as well.
Mabusela adds that the shares will only cost R20 for interested parties and that the closing date for the buying of shares is on 29 August.
Mabusela said LIPFA is a progressive poultry farming organisation representing the aspirations and commercial interests of the previously disadvantaged poultry farmers in Limpopo.
The association is the voice of the emerging poultry farmers and seeks to unite poultry farmers so that they can participate in the main stream economy.
