adminSamuel Kadungure Farming Matters
Though the importance of livestock in sustaining rural communities’ livelihoods need not be overemphasised, one can argue that the livestock industry in the drought-prone district of Buhera is in a crisis situation.
The major headache that requires urgent intervention is inbreeding – coupled with challenges of inadequate extension and training, lack of feeds, high incidences of diseases and parasites, theft and predators, lack of cash to buy livestock pharmaceuticals, insufficient pastures and poor marketing.
Cattle, goats, sheep and chicken are major victims of inbreeding because farmers tend to ignore its effects.
Inbreeding refers to the reproduction through the mating of parents who are closely related genetically. It can be in the form of parent-offspring crosses as well as the mating of full or half siblings. It results in an increased state of having two identical alleles in the same gene and this leads to the offspring being affected by recessive or harmful traits.
It ultimately leads to low productivity and Buhera, being the hub for extensive livestock, production needs remedial measures aimed at improving the quality of its animals so that the rural farmer reaps a return on investment.
Veterinarian Dr Charles Guri warned farmers against inbreeding: “Of concern is the size of the animals. Our breeds are getting smaller and smaller due to inter-mating or inbreeding. There is need to introduce high-yielding breeds to correct the anomaly and allow farmers to fully exploit the genetic potential of the systematically bred animals,” said Dr Guri.
Research shows that inbreeding in a population of beef cattle leads to a decrease in live weight, daily weight gain, calving rate, and scrotal circumference while meat from inbred animals is tougher due to a higher pH.
Another study found that its effects on commercial dairy cattle were entirely negative: decreases cow survival, single lactation production, and reproductive performance; increases calf mortality, age at puberty through retarded growth, and increases rate of disposal or loss of replacement heifers prior to first calving.
In a move aimed at improving the cattle breed in Buhera, Goal Zimbabwe, in partnership with Makera Cattle Company, is currently building the capacity of rural farmers through initiatives like distributing selectively breed bulls for cross breeding, reducing diseases and parasites, development of community-based livestock breeding centres, improved livestock extension, local feed formulation and stocking, livestock marketing and local capacity building.
Last week, the partnership distributed nine multiple bloodline bulls in Buhera’s Wards 15, 16 and 19.
This was in line with the national restocking plan where they are distributing bulls in rural areas to improve the genetics of the cattle.
Makera chief executive Mr Max Makuvise said the quality of rural livestock was deteriorating due to uncontrolled breeding.
“What has been happening is that bulls have been mating with their offspring and the animals were becoming smaller and smaller. However, bringing in these different bloodline bulls makes it easy to improve the breed animals,” said Mr Makuvise.
He added that after three years, the bulls will be rotated to avoid them going after their offspring.
Each bull has capacity to service at least 500 females.
He allayed fears of birth complications.
“These bulls are genetically engineered; they are going to produce offspring that are 30 to 35kg. They produce small calves that grow faster. We have personnel here to help in case of complications”.
Goal Zimbabwe country director Miss Kelly McAulay said their intervention was community driven.
“Community has requested this kind of assistance after realising the deteriorating quality of livestock in Buhera. This is a pilot project and if it succeeds, we will roll it throughout the district and other parts of the country. We are moving away from food handouts as Goal Zimbabwe, because the people deserve more than handouts. They need livelihoods that can sustain them for years. We want them to take up livestock as a form of business and we are linking them with the market, where they can get value for their sweat,” said Miss McAulay.
The bulls were reportedly bred in harsh conditions, and can easily adapt to the conditions in Buhera whose major characteristic is aridity with a very erratic pattern of rainfall and extended periods of high temperatures.
These two factors together with a higher frequency of extreme climatic events will be amplified under the perspective of global warming thus affecting negatively food availability through the seasons of the year. Climate change presents a range of challenges for animal agriculture in Buhera. Livestock production is being affected by changes in temperature and water availability through impacts on pasture and forage crop quantity and quality, feed-grain production and price, and disease and pest distributions.
These possible effects of climate change will have tremendous consequences on dairy, meat and wool production. Heat distress suffered by animals will reduce the rate of animal feed intake and result in poor growth performance.
Livestock specialist Mr John Mwandifura said the district had 120 000 species.
He said the major threat was water and feed shortages, coupled with outbreak of anthrax, stock theft and predators like hyena which target calves and small ruminants.
“The district is overpopulated. That as it maybe the quality is not bad, the physical appearance and body quality is still there when compared to those from the Marange area.
“The district is blighted by water shortage and we are requesting for more boreholes to mitigate the shortage of water for domestic use and livestock production. The district has 105 dip tanks, but most of them are not working, and this forces cattle to be driven for long distances to the dip tanks, adversely affecting the quality of livestock because they burn energy while travelling,” said Mr Mwandifura.
He added that at least nine bulls were needed per ward for the district breed to improve.
Buhera has 33 wards.
“Artificial insemination does not work here owing to constrains of paddock space. We are advising farmers to remove those small bulls they have by selling, but some are resisting citing cultural risks. They argue that takaisapo vanasekuru vedu (they have appeased their ancestors on the bulls),” said Mr Mwandifura.
Apart from their small size, poor weight, the bulls had an inferior work rate.
“They are like dogs, zvimabhuru mashanga. They must be castrated so that only these new bulls are allowed to improve our breed. Worse still the current breed fetches poor prices at the market. They are hard Mashona type, lazy when yoked,” said another farmer.
Buhera Rural District Council chairperson and Ward 15 Councillor Mr Ngonidzashe Musakaruka said this was a new phenomenon designed to improve the quality of livestock and livelihoods of the rural farmers. Mrs Rosemary Marange, a para-vet, said they have been trained to care for as well as feed them. She explained that the most prominent constraint in small-scale livestock farming includes disease and pest control and the quantity and quality of feed offered to the animals.
She said there is also increased dry matter intake, live weight gain and milk production from urea-treated stovers and straw compared to untreated material that they had become accustomed to as small-scale farmers.
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