admin
Dumisani Nsingo, Senior Farming Reporter
THE Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development is contemplating setting up communal range lands in drought-prone areas in a bid to avert poverty deaths of livestock.
Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Deputy Minister (livestock production) Paddy Zhanda said the shortage of grazing land in most of the provinces, which are favourable for livestock rearing was alarming and threatened animal husbandry. He said this after a tour of Matabeleland South province with agricultural stakeholders recently.
“What we are trying to address in terms of the climate change and climate change adaptation . . . is to look at how we keep those animals. We can’t continue to keep them in the traditional manner. I think we need to adopt the concept of communal range land where a large number of cattle are kept together so that at least they can regenerate grass growth because of their density,” Dep Min Zhanda said.
Matabeleland South provincial livestock specialist in the Division of Livestock Production and Development, Ms Simangaliphi Ngwabi said the concept of communal range lands or fodder banks was of paramount importance as it supported productive farming systems.
“I can confirm that the Ministry is looking at the possibility of coming up with fodder banks that will assist in providing graze. This will be in the form of an irrigation scheme whereby selected grass species will be irrigated for consumption by animals,” she said
Ms Ngwabi said there was also a need for farmers to come up with individual small-scale fodder banks constituting various grass species to enable them to exchange in better yielding varieties.
“We are also encouraging farmers to come up with multiplication centres whereby they will be in a position to swap on various grass species they will be breeding,” she said.
In the dry season, the quantity and quality of forage greatly decreases and is generally low in nutritional value. Livestock sustained on such diets often lose weight and productivity.
Ms Ngwabi said about 300 cattle have been recorded to have succumbed to the effects of drought in Matabeleland South this year.
Most deaths were recorded in Mangwe district while Umzingwane and Insiza districts are still to have reported cases of poverty deaths.
Livestock specialist Mr Mhlupheki Dube said the depletion of grazing land mostly in Matabeleland region was a threat to the country’s national herd.
“The concept of communal range lands for livestock will address issues to do with the availability of grazing land. There is a challenge of graze in Matabeleland and the country as a whole and this contributes negatively to the national herd, which is at risk because of climate change.
“We have also seen people and animals competing for water and obviously first preference will go to people at the expense of animals and this leaves livestock susceptible to poverty death,” Mr Dube said.
Matabeleland region used to be the country’s prime cattle producing area but recurrent droughts since 1992 reportedly killed about 60 percent of the province’s herd.
Reports said over 12 000 cattle were lost due to drought in Matabeleland South in 2013 due to drought related challenges.
Bongani Ndlovu