Chronicle EditorJudith Phiri, Business Reporter
WITH efforts to rebuild the national herd intensifying, Matopos Research Institute has said its animal genebank through artificial insemination will go a long way to stimulate smallholder farmers’ herd growth in Matabeleland and other parts of the country.
The recently set up animal genebank which will soon be commissioned, will initiate a cattle artificial insemination programme which entails the collection of sperm cells from a bull, which are then deposited manually into the reproductive tract of a cow when it is on heat.
The development comes in the wake of rampant cattle deaths that were witnessed in the country between the years 2017 and 2022, primarily due to January diseases and bovine dermatophilosis.
Last year, more than 7 000 cattle were lost in November and December owing to a prolonged hot spell, with Matabeleland South being the most affected.
In an interview, Matopos Research Institute, laboratory research officer, Mrs Theresa Rukuni said they were specialising in indigenous and exotic breeds. “The purpose of the laboratory animal genebank is to process semen from different bulls.
Here at Matopos Research Institute, we have indigenous and exotic breeds. ”The indigenous breeds are the ones that adapt to the local environment and for these we have the Nguni, Tuli and the Afrikanda breeds that are already registered with the Zimbabwe Herd Book (ZHB), while for the exotic breed, we have the Brahman,” she said.
Mrs Rukuni said they collected the semen, do tests and preserved them for later use. She revealed that they also offer bull soundness tests for farmers once commissioned. “Farmers also have different breeds of bulls where they need semen to be tapped from, we are there to do the service for them.
We can tap the semen for them, process it here at the laboratory and provide them with the straws that can be used for artificial insemination.
“In addition to that farmers who may have procured straws somewhere locally or by importing, there is a need for them to know the viability of these straws so we provide such services where we test for the quality of the already processed semen straws,” she said Mrs Rukuni said the artificial insemination programme was being done together with their sister Research Institutes namely Grasslands in Marondera, Henderson Research in Mozowe and Makoholi in Masvingo.
It is expected that the artificial insemination programme will significantly help boost food security and improve the economic situation of many communal households when it achieves its intended goal of boosting beef and milk production.
The 2023/24 final crop, livestock and fisheries assessment report (Pre-harvest) CLAFA 1 shows there was a 13,4 percent growth of the national dairy herd from 53 250 to 60 398 while the milking herd grew to 39 811 cows in 2023 from 35 100 in 2022.
The national beef cattle herd recorded a growth of one percent in 2023, increasing from 5 642 400 in 2022 to 5 714 543 in 2023.
Online Reporter