Online Reporter
Precious Manomano
Herald Reporter
GOVERNMENT has stepped up measures to protect livestock from the anticipated dry 2026/27 agricultural season, with farmers being urged to closely assess water and feed resources before deciding whether to reduce their herds.
Agriculture, Mechanisation and Water Resources Development Permanent Secretary Professor Obert Jiri said the Government was putting measures in place to prevent farmers from being forced into distress sales of livestock as water and grazing resources become constrained.
Prof Jiri said the priority was for farmers to establish the amount of water available to their livestock and how long existing supplies would last.
“The first is to ensure that every livestock farmer understands their water resources. As I indicated earlier, the supply is very critical,” he said.
He said farmers should also assess available feed before deciding whether to retain their current herd sizes, stressing that livestock management decisions should take into account the resources available to sustain the animals.
“Secondly, it is to ensure how much feed resources they have. The decision to keep it under depends on the feed resources,” Prof Jiri said.
He said the Government was not directing farmers to automatically reduce their herds, but acknowledged that some farmers could choose to sell animals as part of normal business decisions to raise money to purchase feed.
“I don’t mean that the farmer must downsize. The decision to sell off or to be purely business, to say, if I should offload to be able to buy feed resources, then that is a business decision that a farmer must make,” he said.
However, Prof Jiri said farmers who were compelled to sell livestock because of drought conditions risked losing their productive assets, hence the need for early preparations.
The Government’s livestock drought response is therefore focused on ensuring that farmers have access to water and feed before conditions deteriorate, while monitoring the situation in different areas.
The measures form part of the Government’s broader six-pillar drought mitigation plan recently approved by Cabinet, which has now moved into the implementation phase.
Prof Jiri said the Government was also continuing to prepare agricultural support for rural households in anticipation of the drier season, with farmers being encouraged to make decisions based on the resources available to them rather than waiting until livestock are already in poor condition.
The livestock interventions are particularly important given the forecast of below-normal rainfall during the 2026/27 season, which is expected to put pressure on water points, grazing and feed
