Results

In Southern Malawi, where land is extremely limited,farm-based opportunities to generate income are few.However, vegetation, especially in Balaka, is suitablefor goat production. Many farmers raise goats to sell.Income from the sales is used to buy food and pay foreducation. Goats are better adapted to climatefluctuations, retaining value when crops fail.Markets need to be better organized for farmers torealize higher prices for goats. CLIM2’s first InnovationPlatform meetings highlighted butchermen as keyactors for goat value chain performance. The practiceof sourcing goats from farms is very costly; improvingthe collection of goats through improvedinfrastructure and building local meat-processingfacilities would raise incomes for butchermen. There ishigh potential for these incomes to be passed on tofarmers (producers).

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CLIM2 encourages farmers to invest in production i.e.with better feeding and animal health care, so thatmore goats of better quality are sold, with gains alongthe entire value chain.• The IP highlighted goats as most important business

opportunity in Balaka district; this motivated farmer– butchermen joint ventures for mutual benefit.

• Planning meetings identified entry points forbutchermen as sales pens, refrigeration, andcapacity building in meat handling and processing.

• Follow-up visits with district authorities led toapproval of market infrastructure and upgrading ofslaughterhouse and butchery facilities.

The CLIM2 Goat BusinessModel:Work with existing entrepreneurship: Working withbutchermen strengthens the system from within.Registered company can qualify for loans, be betterconnected and can target high-valuemarkets.

Create a better environment for goat marketing:Improved infrastructure along with better organizedactors enables more effective sales. Transparent pricingmechanisms create trust and reward quality.Capacity development: Regular sales benchmarkquality-based payments. Farmers can directly compareoutputs. As they improve skills in meat handling andprocessing, income grows.Financial support: Company receives start-up capitalfrom local banks for infrastructure investment; theycontribute 10% from own resources.

Balaka butchermen’s vision. More reliable supply ofquality goats from farmers to markets throughimproved infrastructure, sales pens, grading,refrigeration and hygienic handling of meat. As a groupthey will increase goat sales from 6-12 to about 25goats/day (750 goats/month). For a <3-year-old goatweighing 15-20 kg, they are willing to pay producers15,000-20,000 MK.

Thisproject isfundedbyTheEuropeanUnion

PullingGoatsthroughMarkets:GainsfromQualityMeatSupply

CroplivestockIntegrationandMarketing inMalawi(CLIM2)TemwaMvula,SabineHomann-KeeTui, SikhalazoDube, AndrevanRooyen

ApproachBackground

KeymessagesTo enhance gains from goats for farmers, the entrypoint is capacitating butchermen to buy goats and sellmeat.

Improving goat market infrastructure and organizationenhances the flow of goats from producers toconsumers, with shared profits between farmers andbutchermen.