The question of resuming the export of zebu meat on the table. The Bovima company located in Manambaro, Tolagnaro district, represents the hope of Androy and Anosy.
The company Good Meat from Madagascar (Bovima), located in the rural town of Manambaro, Tolagnaro district, was created by a son from the Androy region. This slaughterhouse to international standards is supported by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), through a technical assistance program to prepare producers and breeders to supply it according to precise specifications. The animals purchased must be equipped with a traceability system, the zebu scan set up by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, to avoid any risk of mixing with stolen cattle. Having recently obtained its operating permit, the slaughterhouse has carried out various slaughter trials. Bovima has not yet exported or sold its products on the local market. She can only start this activity if the export ban on zebu meat, introduced in 2019, is lifted. In the meantime, the company is continuing its collaboration with local producers as well as the various players in the two regions to relaunch the sectors, in particular the beef sector. She has been and continues to be actively engaged in herd renewal through activities to improve animal health and welfare. The company is also involved in genetic improvement activities set up by the government.
Traceability
Working only on animals whose traceability must be ensured from birth, it also contributes to the implementation of the traceability system for zebus. It hosted the first experiments of the electronic tag project and the “zebuscan”, the animal management and identification software set up by the government. It also uses the “meatmatrix” system which ensures the traceability of the animal as soon as it arrives within the company. Contrary to certain assertions, Bovima’s activities in no way risk leading to a reduction in the herd. On the contrary, they should largely contribute to the revival and professionalization of the sector. To start its activities, Bovima plans to slaughter 30 male zebus per day in 2023, to reach 45 heads per day during the second year and 55 heads per day during the third year. Furthermore, through lego farms, professional farms that it will support, Bovima not only ensures the traceability of animals, but also helps to organize the breeding system by creating cow-calf and/or fattening producers. While today, the zebus in Madagascar hardly exceed 225 to 250 kilos, Bovima plans to reach a weight of 450 kilos on the zebus that it monitors thanks to animal feed based on locally produced fodder.
For several years now, the company has also been working with farmers in the Anosy region, particularly women, to supply local agricultural inputs needed to feed livestock. Since 2019, it has been supplied with fodder worth nearly 400 million ariary per year from thousands of producers grouped together in associations. Many of them have seen their daily lives improve thanks to the additional income generated by the cultivation of fodder, the quantity of which is expected to reach more than 100,000 tonnes per year in the long term. The members of these associations as well as the local breeders have clearly put forward their support for the Bovima project and their hope to see the company enter into effective operation. They want Bovima to be allowed to export meat. Concerns about issues of insecurity are mentioned, but the authorities have announced measures to fight against this phenomenon and results have even already been observed in this area.