So we are coming to the end of year and this period is planning period for the group. One area we are looking at is what have we achieved? We are beginning to look closely at the results versus what we had planned. The successes and the failures and lessons learnt and what needs to be corrected in 2017.

One group we would like to analyse is ZBIN Poultry Group Number 4. This is our best performing group. A lot of information has been shared, business has been generated for members, a lot of resources have been produced and shared. The icing on the cake was the setting up of the poultry website unfortunately the existence of the website was short-lived as the website was pulled down by unscrupulous website developers.

Current major Challenges

1. Marketing: Most members are still encountering problems when marketing their chickens leading to excess stock of chickens and other poultry products
2. High cost of production: The industry is being negatively affected  by high costs of production leading to little profit margins
3. No exports: Few Zim farmers are producing chickens with the export in mind
4. Lack of one voice: Looks like there is no one effective voice that speaks about Poultry in Zimbabwe. One voice that advocates for favourable policies and terms.
5. Lack of Information: With the Economy facing challenges, this sector is encountering the highest number of new entrants. The new entrants have no one place to access information for free or at little cost and this is resulting in hefty losses for most new entrants.

Proposed Solutions

We believe that the 5 problems mentioned above can be partly solved by having a registered trust or company for the group. A ZBIN company made up of the 256 members of the group should be able to have one voice that engages the private sector and other formal bodies in the marketing of our chickens. One group approaching retailers with branded chickens should result in us solving the market issues.

Members operating under one banner should unlock value in terms of economies of scale in production, marketing and promotion. One central place with all resources available should drastically reduce mortality and losses being encountered by members.

So far information is available in a haphazard manner with some of it outdated such that it serves no purpose to our members. Most of the information shared on Watsapp is not saved anywhere for future reference by members. So we are looking at redesigning our website so that we can have a Poultry section where members have access to up to date resources.

Munemo is not looking at heading this company, I have little experience on chicken rearing, we are looking at the active members of the group to come together and elect leadership that will drive the formal body to be established. Iam looking forward to the facilitation of the registration process, we will help you in terms fundraising for an administrator of the company or trust.

Conclusion

So there you are ZBIN Group Number 4, our flagship, our best ZBIN forum we need to move forward and solve the problems we are facing. Our number 1 problem being Market and we believe that by working together as a group we will achieve more. By having one voice that speaks about Poultry Issues in Zimbabwe, we will unlock more opportunities. Marketing Challenges must fall in 2017. More updates on the way forward to be shared on a bi-weekly basis.

The article below from Newsday is quite sad, a man lost close to $20k in a botched real estate deal. If you remember our article on Real Estate Fraud which we covered here last month, then you should be able to avoid such scams.

Lets analyse the following facts from the article;

1. The residential stand is in a build up area in Tynawald-INFILL STAND?
2. The residential stand was sold by an INDIVIDUAL
3. Deal of Sale concluded OUT OF TOWN in Rusape
4. Transaction concluded without engagement of a LAWYER

Now dear reader, tis adverts had too many red flags. If you read our first post on real estate then you should remember what I said about INFILL STANDS. Ma infill stands haatengwe nekuti all of them are fake! I also mentioned that avoid buying residential stands from Individuals as individuals have proven to be high risk in the Real Estate industry, rather buy from established real estate agents or financial institutions with a reputation to protect. I remember saying that there is no one who has ever been conned money by financial institutions such as CABS, Old Mutual, FBC and Fidelity.

Out of Town Deals: If you are buying a car, buying a residential stand or any deal where you initially meet in your area but later on encouraged to finalise the deal and payment out of town then do one thing-Run with your money, cancel the deal because its FAKE! The fraudsters do not want you to possibly bring knowledgeable people to the conclusion of the deal. A friend of mine who wants bough a fake stand had to travel to Bulawayo where the deal was concluded! When OUT OF TOWN crops up then immediately cancel the deal or risk becoming a statistic like what happened in the article below.

Residential Stands and Lawyers: Do not conclude the purchase of real estate on your own as if you are buying a vehicle. Get legal help by engaging registered lawyers, we also have dubious lawyers around so make sure that they are registered. Doing such deals on your own will result in you being at the mercy of con artists.

So there you are readers, share this article with friends and relatives so that they cannot be victims like Philemon below.

Man loses $18 000 in bogus house deal