Online Reporter
Lonster Mutata
Herald Correspondent
AS the country braces for the possibility of a severe El Niño season, the Government is turning to the country’s indigenous cattle genetics as a frontline defence against drought, disease and the growing pressures of climate change.
The Mashona and Tuli breeds have emerged as key pillars in the effort to build a stronger and more productive national herd.
The push is anchored on a simple principle that climate resilience must begin long before the rains fail.
Speaking at the recent inaugural Livestock Conference hosted by the Zimbabwe Agricultural Society in Harare, Agriculture, Mechanisation and Water Resources Development Minister Dr Anxious Masuka said the country could no longer afford to treat climate resilience as an emergency response, but had to build it into livestock production systems, including breeding.
“Zimbabwe is predicted to become drier in the decades ahead, so we must think climate-proofing at every stage.
“Livestock, crops; that’s how the smaller stock becomes key,” said Dr Masuka.
The Government is prioritising the improvement of indigenous genetics rather than relying on breeds that are poorly suited to the country’s increasingly harsh production environment.
Dr Masuka said there were efforts to ensure that “areas that produce the Mashona, produce better Mashona cattle”.
The approach also encompasses the Tuli, another indigenous breed renowned for its hardiness and adaptability, as Government seeks to strengthen livestock production in the communal and smallholder sectors where farmers often operate under low-input conditions.
The Government is targeting the artificial insemination of 100 000 cattle annually as part of a broader genetic improvement programme, while research centres are working to develop animals with greater tolerance to heat, drought, disease and feed shortages.
The strategy comes at a critical time.
Forecasts of a potentially severe 2026/27 El Niño season have renewed attention on the vulnerability of livestock to prolonged dry conditions, depleted grazing, shrinking water sources and rising disease pressures.
The experience of the 2023/24 El Niño remains a stark reminder of the cost of waiting for a crisis before acting.
For the country’s predominantly smallholder livestock producers, the choice of breed can therefore become as important as the availability of feed, water and veterinary services.
At the Makoholi Research Institute in Masvingo, livestock researchers have spent years working with the Mashona breed, seeking to preserve and strengthen characteristics that have enabled the indigenous animal to perform under some of the most demanding conditions.
Research officer and livestock researcher Mr Calisto Gwatirisa said the Mashona’s greatest strength lies in its ability to combine productivity with resilience.
“We are currently breeding the Mashona cattle as one of the programmes to strengthen resilience. “These are breeds that are not easily susceptible to diseases which are triggered by climate change, such as January Disease and anthrax,” he said.
The breed has been scientifically conserved, evaluated and improved over decades, with researchers focusing on traits that are increasingly valuable as climate pressures intensify.
