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George Maponga and Precious Manomano
A 192km veterinary game fence along the border of Gonarezhou National Park was commissioned yesterday to prevent transmission of foot and mouth disease from the natural wildlife reservoir of buffaloes to cattle in the surrounding communities of Chiredzi district.
Started in 2018 at the start of the Second Republic, the US$3,1 million cost was wholly funded by the Government and fulfils the dream of many in the cattle industry of plugging the last major source of potential infection between wildlife and cattle.
It should also reduce poaching and prevent wildlife raiding nearby crops.
The game changing reconstruction project also dovetails with President Mnangagwa’s philosophy of leaving no one and no place behind and seeks to make sure that Zimbabwe’s livestock remains foot and mouth disease free when current expansion in the national herd and the industry will allow resumption of exports of quality beef that must be certified free of foot and mouth.
Speaking at the commissioning of the Gonarezhou Veterinary Game Cordon Fence at Mhlanguleni Primary School in Chiredzi South, Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Minister Anxious Masuka said Government wanted to prevent the possibility of any spread of foot and mouth disease.
He said the fact that the project was wholly funded by the Government under the Second Republic showed strong commitment to make sure it reclaimed lost beef exports and open new ones.
The completion of the fence was another milestone in infrastructure development as Government forges ahead with the stimulation of socio-economic growth.
‘‘The country is intensifying efforts to reclaim lost beef exports and establish new ones,” said Minister Masuka. “Starting July 2018, Government of the Second Republic under the President Cde Dr ED Mnangagwa, through the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, began reconstruction of 192km game fence at the boundary of the Gonarezhou National Park and the Chiredzi Communal area in order to stop the interaction of livestock with wildlife, thereby preventing the transmission of diseases particularly foot and mouth disease.
‘‘The first line of defence in the fight against foot and mouth disease is adequate separation between buffalo and livestock. In the SADC region and Zimbabwe, buffalo are the known carriers of the foot and mouth virus and they transmit the disease to livestock.
“This fence provides the physical barrier needed to confine the buffaloes to designated conservation areas. Gonarezhou is the biggest conservation area with the highest population of the buffaloes.’’
Ultimately, said Minister Masuka, the Government intended to create foot and mouth free zones that will form the nucleus of plans to regain lucrative beef export markets and earn the country the much-needed hard currency.
‘‘The fence was constructed at a total cost of US$3,1 million and was wholly funded by the Second Republic,” said Minister Masuka.
“The same efforts will be extended to other national parks and wildlife conservancies. In addition to game fences, we encourage farmers to fence off their farms.
“These fences will enable the country to create foot and mouth free zones from which livestock and livestock products can be sold to lucrative markets including the export markets. Both livestock production and wildlife are major contributors to the national economy and should be jealously guarded as Government priority.’’
The cordon fence was also an ace in the pack for the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zimparks) in its own quest to protect the wildlife and stop poaching in the park and should also help to prevent predators coming into farming areas and prevent other wildlife from raiding farmers’ fields.
‘‘I am informed that wildlife has been destroying crops in the adjacent fields and vegetables in gardens impacting negatively on the lives of communities. The fence is, therefore, a good Problem Animal Control (PAC) facility,’’ said Minister Masuka.
Minister Masuka urged Zimparks and the Department of Veterinary Services to closely work together and make sure the fence was not vandalised.
The local community benefited from the fence reconstruction through employment as most of the workforce was drawn from there.
Minister Masuka handed over bicycles to dip tank attendants to capacitate them so they spearhead the fight against animal diseases such as January disease that every year takes a heavy toll on the country’s beef herd.
Minister of State for Masvingo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Ezra Chadzamira paid glowing tribute to the Second Republic for financing reconstruction of the cordon fence that he said would stop the spread of foot and mouth disease in communities around Gonarezhou National Park and also curb the conflict between humans and wildlife.
He said the involvement of locals in the construction of the fence was in fulfilment of the “Nyika Inovakwa Nevene Vayo” mantra and lauded the project for creating employment for locals.
Villagers thanked Government for the initiative they said will help grow their beef herd.
Mr Elphas Maluleleke from Mupapa thanked the Second Republic for building the Gonarezhou cordon fence.
‘‘We want to thank Government for building this fence because not only did some of our people here got hired to work in erecting the fence but most importantly the fence is a permanent solution to the spread of foot and mouth,’’ he said.
Mr Hasani Makuwe of Mhlanguleni said the development was a master stroke in curbing human-wildlife conflict around Gonarezhou.
‘‘We are relieved by the building of this fence because every year wild animals especially elephants always destroyed our crops while lions killed our live stock and even posed threats to humans especially our children of school going age,’’ said Mr Makuwe.
Gonarezhou National Park is part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park that brings together South Africa’s Kruger and Mozambique’s Limpopo into one expansive wildlife habitat teeming with arguably the highest concentration of game in Africa.
Foot and mouth in warm dry climates makes cattle ill, but rarely seriously, while in cool wet climates it is a killer, and this is why major export markets in Europe in particular demand that all meat imports are totally free of the virus and any risk of infection.
It is an internationally listed or notifiable disease and it affects the economies of countries depending on cattle and pig industry.
Symptoms of FMD include excessive salivation, limping, presence of sores in the mouth and in between the toes.
Countries experiencing FMD suffer from trade embargoes limiting exports of even non-livestock products from affected areas.
Stakeholders in the livestock industry are strongly advised to comply with veterinary restrictions if the cattle economy is to revive successfully.
The farming community has also welcomed completion of the cordon.
Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union (ZCFU) president Dr Shadreck Makombe said the move was in the right direction, adding that farmers’ incomes will improve.
‘‘This is greatly appreciated because we can control the disease and also eliminate it,” he said. “Animals’ movement is controlled, hence we should not see animals where human beings are living. Our economy will also rise after resuming meat exports.
“This disease was an obstacle and now we can celebrate that the Government has done so well in addressing foot and mouth disease.”
Tobacco Farmers Union Trust vice president Mr Edward Dune said the move was well appreciated, adding that more efforts needed to be implemented to ensure that it covers all areas in Zimbabwe.
He said a lot of awareness campaigns, particularly on disease controls, needed to be strengthened.
‘‘This is a good development, but we need to come up with other devices so that we fully protect our national herd from the disease,” said Mr Dune. “There should be also an improvement on community participation so that everyone fully understands.
“Animals are migrating in the country and there are a lot of zoonotic diseases such as anthrax which is also threatening our livestock hence control measures should also be scaled up.’’
Zimbabwe Indigenous Women Farmers Association Trust president Mrs Depinah Nkomo said Government’s efforts so far reflected its commitment towards improving the agricultural sector.
“We lost thousands of livestock in the sector for the past years, but now cattle mortality has significantly dropped. We are grateful, the Government is working hard to ensure that our livestock are well protected,’’ she said.
Mrs Maggy Munyoro, a livestock farmer in Zvimba said it is critical for farmers to continue working hand in hand with authorities to ensure that livestock is protected from tick-borne diseases.
“This is a critical issue which must not be ignored because we lost thousands of cattle due to tick-borne diseases. The majority of us were left with nothing, hence we appreciate the Government’s efforts to provide material which we are using to safeguard the livestock,” she said.
Government is expecting the livestock industry to grow to US$3,4 billion by 2025 after the sector makes positive strides in improving productivity and combating cattle mortality following the outbreak of tick borne diseases which ravaged almost half a million of cattle since 2016.
In 2020, Government approved the Livestock Recovery and Growth Plan (2021-2026), whose main thrust is to put in place solid interventions to address livestock production and productivity issues that lay a good foundation for the livestock sector to assume its prominent role in transforming farmers’ livelihoods and providing the required raw materials for agriculture-led industrial development, among other things.
These will culminate in an increase in livestock production and productivity, strengthened animal disease surveillance and control systems.
Online Reporter