Times of Zambia reports that the Government is to train Small and Medium Entrepreneurs (SMEs) in the rural areas in stock feed production in an effort to disband the monopoly in the sector.

Livestock and Fisheries Permanent Secretary Isaac Phiri said there was need to disband the monopoly in the stock feed industry by increasing competition that would push down the prices of stock feed for the small holder farmers to benefit.

In an interview in Lusaka, Professor Phiri said the association should come up with programmes that would support small-scale poultry farmers in rural areas.

"The Poultry Association of Zambia are doing nothing for the small-scale poultry farmers in the rural areas and I would like to state that the association has concentrated too much on promoting commercial poultry farmers," Professor Phiri said.

The development of livestock depended on low prices of stock feed for the smallholder farmers in the rural areas to benefit and contribute to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

"It is an unfortunate that we are not speaking the same language with the association because they don’t want the small scale farmers to start the production of feed. What they want is to monopolise the sector," he said.

In other countries the programme to train SMEs had yielded positive results and created a level playing field, reports Times of Zambia.

"It does not make economic sense to continue having the prices for feed that high when we can train our SMEs in stock feed production," Professor Phiri said.

"We are trying to encourage SMEs to start producing different types of stock feed locally to reduce the prices of livestock feed that will enable the small holder farmers in the rural areas to afford," he said.