Online Reporter
Stephen Mpofu [email protected]
CLIMATIC conditions across Zimbabwe may be favourable, with normal to above normal rainfall expected.
However, many villagers still face the risk of hunger because they have lost their main source of tillage power after cattle were wiped out by the tick borne January disease.
This is happening at a time when dipping chemicals are not being supplied in adequate amounts across the country, according to a veterinary official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
In the Midlands Province, which has eight districts, only Gokwe North and Gokwe South are reportedly free from the January disease.
This was confirmed yesterday by a reliable veterinary source.
In the other districts, the few dipping chemicals available are being distributed only to areas already considered at high risk of infection.
This limited supply is putting pressure on authorities to act quickly and ensure that enough chemicals are made available across the country.
Villagers in Mwenezi and Chivi districts are also reporting heavy cattle losses due to the January disease, which they say has worsened because of the shortage of dipping chemicals.
In some villages, cattle pens are now empty after the disease wiped out entire herds.
As a result, many farmers have been forced to dig their fields using hand tools in preparation for the rainy season.
This form of farming is slow and often leads to poor harvests, raising fears of food shortages.
In Mberengwa District, some villagers who could afford it reportedly turned to buying donkeys from Botswana for use as draft power, as donkeys are believed to be resistant to the January disease.
Sources who preferred to remain anonymous warned that if the Government does not act quickly to restock cattle or provide alternative forms of tillage, such as tractors, the country may be forced to spend large sums of money on food imports to prevent hunger.
