Mafisa Livestock
The problem
The urban beef market in Africa is expanding rapidly - but large businesses that dominate growth are coming under pressure as investors increasingly demand environmental and social accountability.
Small farmers own 85-90% of animals, so increasing demand should be good for business. But production is poor and they lack the knowledge, services or cash to improve. Mortality is high: in Zambia, 51 percent of all the cattle that smallholders own die before they get to market. Traders offer very low prices, so farmers only sell in times of emergency.
The situation has deteriorated over years. Most pastoralist communities live in fragile ecosystems, better suited to livestock than crops, greatly impacted by climate emergency. Many alternative livelihoods are destructive to soils and forests, and whole regions are facing environmental disaster.
Change is urgently needed. There is a ready market, with better prices for improved production. In the long term, success and scale will be market driven. Beef markets need a cleaner, greener supply, and carbon markets may also support healthy rangelands.
But change is slow. This is why Mafisa exists. Mafisa works closely with livestock communities, developing ways to deliver sustainable, impactful change. We will improve livelihoods and the environment, creating a profitable approach for doing this at scale in Zambia and beyond.
The solution
Mafisa works with traditional cattle farming communities, starting in south-west Zambia.
Better management, production and markets will increase farmer incomes. Mafisa estimates an 800% increase in incomes is possible without increasing the number of breeding animals. In a region where 90% of households are poor, this impact would be transformative.
To achieve this, Mafisa does four things:
1. We provide community based animal health facilities (right), and train farmers in better animal management.
2. We lend animals, introducing fresh indigenous genetics and helping women and youth to build herds.
3. We train farmers to revive traditional sustainable grazing practices and fire management, adapted to reflect the science on regenerative rangeland management. We are close securing links to carbon markets, which can finance these improvements.
4. We create access to formal sector buyers, enticing large-scale actors to more remote regions with aggregated supply and environmental accountability, greatly increasing available market price.
