Lead brings smile to drought ravaged villagers

Yoliswa Dube, Senior Features Reporter
El Niño-induced drought conditions have led to a sharp deterioration in food security in Binga District, Matabeleland North province.

The effects of the drought have been devastating, destabilising and debilitating to food production systems.

Prolonged lack of rain caused widespread hunger and long-term environmental damage. Below-average harvests and crop failures severely diminished incomes of many households.

Families dependent on their animals have recorded some livestock mortality and high emaciation due to insufficient pastures and feed. Without stable sources of food, water and income, households reliant on agriculture have been at risk of extreme food insecurity and malnutrition.

As the impact of the drought continues and consumption from subsistence farming dwindles, the number of food insecure households is expected to increase exponentially in the coming months.

But all hope is not lost as Linkages for Economic Advancement for the Disadvantaged (Lead) with assistance from the World Food Programme (WFP) is providing food assistance to 45 841 people in Binga in a bid to avert hunger and meet the immediate food needs of vulnerable households in the district.

Lead is a Zimbabwean registered non-governmental organisation dedicated to building and restoring the dignity of disadvantaged groups and communities in the country through sustainable livelihood options and appropriate economic empow­erment initiatives.

To address the consequences of the El Nino-induced and perennial drought conditions in Binga, Lead has implemented emergency, recovery and resilience building interventions that have helped reduce the food gap, restore livestock based livelihoods, create sustainable water supplies and provide nutrition support.

Through its initiatives, Lead has improved access to water for human and livestock consumption.

Livestock has great potential to make a significant contribution to food, nutrition and income security, especially for households in the semi-arid and drier parts of the country such as Binga.

The high frequency of extended mid-season dry spells, increased land degradation and dwindling water resources in the district expose smallholder farmers to higher risk of crop failure leaving livestock production as the main agricultural activity.

However, with the necessary support, Binga smallholder livestock farmers have potential to increase productivity and contribute to improved household nutrition, reduced child malnutrition, and increased empowerment of women.

Women are crucial in the translation of the products of a vibrant district livestock sector into food and nutritional security for their households.

When women have an income, substantial evidence indicates that the income is more likely to be spent on food and children’s needs leading to better household livelihoods.

It is against this background that the project considers water supply for both human and livestock consumption through the construction of five weir dams as well as rehabilitation of two dams through dam scooping and soil and water conservation works.

The dams are expected to help transform rural livelihoods from weather dependent and risk-prone ones into food self-reliance sustainable livelihood systems.

The dams have significantly reduced distances that animals would trek in search of water, thus improving livestock health and productivity as animals no longer waste a lot of energy in search of water.

Lead projects have also resulted in increased food and nutrition security through increased crop production and livestock diversification, which have promoted sustainable food and nutrition security and reduced vulnerability in the district. The major causes of vulnerability were water scarcity and periodic drought cycles that are being aggravated by climate change.

Interventions to increase crop production and diversification are mainly related to the establishment of nutrition gardens, irrigation scheme rehabilitation and upgrading rain-fed agriculture through rainwater harvesting technologies (conservation agriculture).

But livestock production and productivity in the district continue to dwindle. There are no organised markets and private buyers make purchases at low prices with the average price being $300 per beast.

Binga District veterinary officer Mr Tawanda Gonye said there is a need to improve livestock productivity in Binga. “There are 100 000 cattle in Binga, with a calving rate of four percent, which is very low as compared to the expected 65 percent,” said Mr Gonye.

“The causes of poor livestock productivity in the district are multidimensional, including poor grazing management, watering and dipping regimes due to water shortages and poor livestock diseases management”.

Lead, through financial support from WFP, constructed five dip tanks in the district to help improve disease management.

The dip tanks are set to serve about 10 000 cattle.

Chief Sinansengwe of Binga said rehabilitating existing dip tanks and constructing new ones was a priority. “Cattle are our major source of livelihood; we get milk and meat that we consume or sell for other types of food, thus, rehabilitating dip-tanks was a priority for the community”.

Through a consultative process, farmers are planning to use the constructed dip tanks as livestock auctioning centres.

Livestock production and productivity has improved due to farmer trainings, increased dipping and control of livestock diseases as the newly constructed dip tanks are operational.

Mr Gonye said the plunge dip-tanks, which replaced makeshift spray races have reduced the cost of dipping from $900 per month to only $40 per month.

Meanwhile, a major component of the project was the construction of poultry and goat model houses which communities are able to replicate and follow the standards and principles using locally available materials.

Livestock plays an important role in food security, providing food rich in protein, essential vitamins and minerals. Meat, eggs and milk are not seasonal and can be produced all year round, generating a regular food source and income. In addition, manure helps increase soil fertility.

Lead was also engaged by the WFP on the Lean Season Assistance (LSA) programme in Binga to distribute monthly food rations to food insecure households.

The project’s interventions are in line with the country’s economic blue-print, Zim-Asset, under the food security and nutrition cluster and the social services and poverty eradication cluster.

The project also supports government efforts to attain food security and environmental sustainability.

Lead projects are expected to increase resilience to shocks within smallholder agri­cultural systems in Binga and document the pro­ject results, lessons, best practices learnt and disseminate them to key stakeholders, which include the Binga Rural District Council, Lead, Depart­ment of Veterinary Services, Livestock Production Department, Agritex, farmers, abattoirs, local leadership, Environmen­tal Management Agency, other government departments and developmental partners within and outside Binga District.