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Mashudu Netsianda Senior Reporter
FARMERS in Matabeleland South are ignoring a massive $2 million Government funded livestock feeding project as more than 40 000 bales of hay are lying idle at Shangani in Insiza District. The Government launched the project last year in September under the Enhanced Drought Relief and Livestock Mitigation Programme in a bid to save the livestock from starvation.
This was after a thorough assessment of the drought situation during which it was realised that Matabeleland South, considered a prime cattle producing area in the country, was the worst affected province in terms of cattle deaths.
When Chronicle visited the site on Thursday, there were more than 40 000 bales of hay piled up, 12 tractors and a sophisticated hay baling equipment, which included rakes, grass mowers and balers.
Workers from the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development who spoke to Chronicle confirmed that farmers were not coming to access the hay bales.
A bale weighing between 15kg and 17kg costs $2.50.
“As you can see for yourself we continue to have a mounting heap of bales of hay as farmers are not coming to buy.
“We also have several other bales, which have not yet been collected from various sites around Shangani and once we secure fuel we will go and collect it,” said a worker.
Workers also expressed concern over illegal gold panners as they are reportedly burning grass in areas where they would have detected gold deposits.
This is despite that the Government has shown commitment by coming up with such a massive project to save livestock in the drought hit province from dying of starvation.
The Government has even gone a step further by transporting the bales to some distribution points in the worst hit areas such as Mangwe, Bulilima, Beitbridge, Matobo and Gwanda districts.
Some farmers who spoke to Chronicle said they were failing to raise money to transport the hay to their respective areas.
“It is not like we are deliberately shunning the project. We cannot do that because that programme is there to save our livestock.
“The problem is that what we are facing as farmers is that most of us stay far away from Shangani hence we cannot raise money to transport the hay to our areas,” said Mr Samuel Mudau of Beitbridge.
The Zimbabwe Farmers Union (ZFU) provincial chairperson for Matabeleland South, Mr Douglas Sibanda, urged farmers to form groups to ease the burden.
“As ZFU we are aware of the hay bales, which are lying idle at Shangani. As individuals it has proved to be a big challenge for farmers to transport hay as it is quite expensive.
“We have been encouraging farmers to team up and form groups so that they can be able to raise money for transport. The Government has shown commitment and as farmers we ought to play our part as well rather than just watch as our cattle die of starvation,” he said.
The provincial chief livestock specialist, Mrs Simangaphi Ngwabi, said most cattle farmers who are the beneficiaries of the scheme, were farmers in areas that have run out of pastures.
“As Matabeleland South we were given a revolving fund of $2 million under the Enhanced Drought Relief and Livestock Mitigation Programme, which we used to buy hay baling equipment.
“We managed to make more than 40 000 hay bales. Sadly most of it is still lying idle as the beneficiaries are not coming to buy because they are saying they cannot afford transport costs,” said Mrs Ngwabi.
She said several parts of the province were fast running out of pastures resulting in cattle dying of starvation.
“Farmers have started losing their cattle in Matabeleland South as we are now running out of pastures, especially in Kezi and some parts of Gwanda where cattle have succumbed to drought. Some farmers in affected areas have already started transporting their cattle to areas where pastures are still available,” she said.
Mrs Ngwabi urged farmers to destock as part of a livestock survival strategy.
“Although the Government has managed to avail livestock feed you will still find that cattle continue to die and this is largely due to poor planning by farmers. Farmers should play a leading role in ensuring the survival of their livestock through coming up with a number of innovations including making fodder blocks.
“We encourage farmers to consider destocking and that money can be used to buy survival stock feed rations for the remaining animals. They should avoid selling their animals when they are in bad shape as they are most likely to sell them for a song,” said Mrs Ngwabi.
Chronicle has also established that some villagers in most parts of Gwanda district have started selling their cattle at give away prices just to get rid of them before they die from hunger.
Prices for cattle normally range between $300 and $500 depending on the size and quality of the beast.
The desperate situation is therefore likely to leave most villagers poorer and without draught power during the next farming season.
Matabeleland South has a population of more than 500 000 cattle and over the years farmers have been losing their livestock due to recurrent droughts.
According to official figures from the Department of Livestock Production and Development, 9 200 drought related deaths of cattle were recorded in the province last year, and the districts which were leading in terms of the deaths were Matobo, Gwanda and Beitbridge.
Matabeleland South, which is conducive for cattle ranching, receives less than 450 millimetres of rainfall per year.
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