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Conrad Mupesa
Mashonaland West Bureau
THE pain of losing an entire herd of 16 cattle to January disease last year, is a nightmare that Mr Rabreck Jenami of Zvimba’s Ward 15 cannot forget.
He is among hundreds of farmers from Hurungwe Farm in the same ward, whose cattle were decimated by the tick-borne disease.
Mr Jenami, who is also the village head for the same farm, has rallied his area to work hand-in-glove with the Zvimba Rural District Council and the Government to ensure development in the area.
The farmers on Hurungwe Farm were allocated farms during land reform.
Now, to ring-fence their source of wealth, the farmers have been moulding bricks for the rehabilitation of a dip tank in their area as their contribution to a vital service.
Through its share of the devolution funds, Zvimba RDC dedicated the funds towards rehabilitating two dip tanks in the area, with the community providing bricks, sand and labour, in a true embodiment of President Mnangagwa’s the mantra, “Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo/ Ilizwe lakhiwa ngabanikazi balo”.
The Hurungwe Farm dip tank, which is over 90 percent complete now, has been described by communal farmers as a stepping stone towards securing their new herd of cattle that they have started raising.
Zvimba RDC has also released funds for the construction of Makwadzi dip tank in Ward 32.
So far, the project is above 95 percent complete.
The move by council dovetails with the Second Republic’s Livestock Recovery and Growth Plan, which seeks to attain a US$2 billion livestock economy by the year 2025 and contribute to food security and nutrition, employment creation, household incomes and, ultimately, growth of the rural economy as the country journeys towards Vision 2030 of an empowered upper middle income society.
Said Mr Jenami: “We are grateful to the Government for the devolution funds that have been used to help rehabilitate this dip tank. The dip tank had cracks and the roofing sheets were missing.
“After its completion, it will service farmers from Hurungwe, Windsor and Gomango Farms. It will also give support to two more neighbouring farms.”
While the farmers had resorted to knapsack spraying as an alternative to dipping their cattle to keep January Disease at bay, the farmers said that most of them were not doing it regularly.
Mr Tarisai Alfa Nachi, a local farmer and chairman of the dip tank, said the area needed at least five more dip tanks to attend to all the farmers in the area.
Young Godknows Mlambo, who bought cows using proceeds from mining activities, said the rehabilitation of the dip tank will go a long way in augmenting the tick grease provided by President Mnangagwa.
Ward 15 Councillor, Mr Sandram Kembo, and Ward 32 Councillor Mrs Mabel Nyadzayo, confirmed that the dip tank projects would give the farmers a new lease of life.
Online Reporter