To celebrate the agreement, the two companies recently organized an event at the Matabeleland Poultry Expo ground to promote and inform customers of the reasons for the change.

Such was the interest in the event, around 300 guests ultimately attended due to the high demand. The seminar was originally restricted to 150 invited customers.

The day involved discussions around the potential of the poultry industry in Zimbabwe, the reasons why Ross is the answer for the future of poultry production in Zimbabwe, and a talk on breaking the poverty mind-set.

As well as hearing about the intricacies of managing poultry in Zimbabwe, attendees were invited to view breeding chickens, chicks, and 35-day-old birds throughout the marquees. Ross Africa also is fully supported by Aviagen®, the world’s largest poultry breeding company and as such, has access to a huge range of internal and external technical and innovative resources.

Notably, the guest of honour for the event was Deputy Minister of Agriculture, the Honourable Paddy Zhanda. He thoroughly enjoyed the day, understanding its significance as a milestone for the industry.

He said: “With increasing pressure from globalisation and need for efficiency, it is essential that Zimbabwe producers have access to the world’s top technology and genetics and it is, therefore, a privilege to see partnerships between global giants like Aviagen and our breeders in Zimbabwe.

“We can confidently say that our farmers can now produce as well as America, Brazil, or anywhere in the world and we need to have the vision and training to combine this and make it happen.”

Peter Cunnigham, a new Ross Africa customer in Zimbabwe, added: “In this context, it is a great joy to have Ross Africa and through them Aviagen partnering with companies in Zimbabwe to bring the world’s top breeds, genetics, technology and training right to our farmers and producers. Over the last 20 years, the Ross bird has made enormous leaps in productivity with a 20% increase in feed performance over this period.”

He continued: “On this basis there is no reason why the Zimbabwean poultry industry cannot perform to the same efficiency standards as anywhere in the world and this is what we need to press into in an increasingly globalised and efficient world production system.”

Bulent Tanyildizi, international commercial manager for Ross in the Middle East and Africa, commented: “Zimbabwe is a nation that is looking to grow economically and the poultry industry is a key part of that. This event was incredibly positive, all the producers attending were very glad to see a vision of success that matched their own ambitions. There was a great sense of excitement for what can be achieved in Matabeleland and the potential for the industry.”