adminIn one Beitbridge district incident, a man collapsed and died after 65 of his herd had succumbed to the devastating drought. Considering the fact that at the time of writing this article (28 December) there was still no rain in the province, more were bound to die, causing a great deal of distress to many people in the region.
This experience is not new. There have been similar droughts adversely affecting domestic animals, people, wild beasts as well as plants, including the drought-resistant baobab trees in the past. Matabeleland South shares a common border (the Limpopo River) with a South African administrative province bearing that river’s name.
It is in that South African province that the famous ancient Mapungubgwe structures are located. They predate the massive Zimbabwe monuments, thought to have been constructed most likely by people who had abandoned the Mapungubgwe site.
Although the actual reason for the abandonment of Mapungubgwe is not known, we cannot reasonably rule out drought. Other causes include an outbreak of disease, an occurrence of pests such as army worm or locusts, a serious military attack or the occurrence of floods.
Since droughts are experienced more or less regularly in the region which include Matabeleland South, we can conclude that drought was at least one of the causes of the abandonment of the old settlement.
This means that residents of that region should devise ways of lessening drought effects on particularly their livestock. Some of the ways of alleviating drought effects on cattle is to procure feed to sustain them till the following rainy season.
Procurement of such feed will mean the sale of some of the cattle to raise money for such a project. However, or wherever the feed can be procured, money would inevitably be needed.
Another way of providing feed for one’s cattle is to reserve some paddocks for dry seasonal grazing. That is possible in the commercial farming sector where livestock owners have legal control over their land. In the communal lands, reserving some land for that purpose can be done with public consultation and consent, with the chief or headman playing a leading role in the whole process.
Translocation of herds can also serve a useful purpose to avert such a disaster as is occurring in Matabeleland South. In that case, the farmer would have to find a land owner who is prepared to rent out his or her land for an agreed period for grazing.
Transportation apart, the target grazing area should have adequate water and serviceable dipping facilities. In hot sub-tropical climatic conditions, cattle should access sufficient drinking water at least every other day. Where water is plentiful and easily accessible, they should have it daily.
Talking about watering cattle brings us to an interesting observation made by some conservationists concerning the distance between pastures and water points such as dams, rivers, wells and boreholes. The issue is about livestock caused soil erosion.
Massive land degradation occurs where large herds of cattle travel regularly between their grazing area and their watering points. It is, therefore, advisable to have the dams or whatever the source of water is, to be as near the grazing area as possible to minimise risks of land degradation.
The shorter the distance the better too for the animals. In fact they can actually utilise virtually all the water they consume for their benefit instead of losing it through sweating due to having to walk long distances back to their pastures.
It is wise, therefore, to site boreholes or dams strategically to reduce the relevant pastures-water source distances.
When translocating cattle temporarily for grazing purposes, it is obviously important not to move them from a green to a red belt area as that could result in a very big problem getting them back to the green zone.
Consideration should also be given to the fact that some types of cattle, such as Friesian, show signs of physical stress when they walk long distances. It is strongly recommended to pen-feed or paddock feed them instead.
That is particularly so with Friesian cows, heifers and bulls.
We now look at how traditionalist peasant farmers are attached to their herds, some deeply emotionally like the Beitbridge man. It is understandable, yes, but not really excusable to lose as large a number as 65. Why? Because cattle lose weight due to starvation and thirst more or less gradually and not suddenly.
Why not sell them while they are still presentable, use the money or invest it in a gainfully productive project with the aim of restocking sooner or later? It is not a sign of wisdom to watch one’s cattle getting slowly emaciated. If they cannot be fed somehow, the best thing to do is to sell them sooner than later. One should rather sell one’s 20 to 30 cows during a drought, buy 200 or so goats, sell them later and restock in good season.
Saul Gwakuba Ndlovu is a Bulawayo-based retired journalist. He can be contacted on cell 0734328136 or through email [email protected]
Online Reporter