Vusumuzi Dube
Business Reporters
FARMERS in Gwanda District, Matabeleland South Province are hopeful for an improvement in the condition of their livestock following the establishment of an animal health management centre in the Manama area.
The Government and its development partners have upgraded 26 anchor animal health management centres in eight provinces across the country under a US$4 million project aimed at enhancing community livelihoods through increased production and contribution to the national economy.
The centres were established under the Transforming Zimbabwe’s Animal Health and Food Safety Systems for the Future (SAFE) project, which part of a larger European Union (EU)-funded Zimbabwe Agricultural Growth Programme (ZAGP) that was launched in the country in June 2019.
A total of 73 000 livestock farmers are already benefitting from the programme, which is also set to reduce livestock mortality and support the growth of the national herd in line with Livestock Growth Plan.
In an interview, 73-year-old, Mr Timothy Sibanda said the centres will go a long away in reducing livestock mortality rates.
“I have been here in Manama since 1950 and have lost count of the livestock that l have lost to diseases such as cattle and goats among others. This development will go a long way in reducing the mortality rate of our livestock,” he said.
Mr Sibanda said the centres have also brought products and services closer to the farmers in an affordable way and were reducing the cost for them.
Reiterating Mr Sibanda’s sentiments, another farmer, Ms Juliet Ndlovu said they have been having challenges with agro-chemicals and drugs as they were not available in their Village.
“This facility will go a long way to ensure we acquire knowledge on how to treat our animals after being attacked by diseases such as January disease or foot and mouth. Agro chemicals and drugs are now available close by. We are no longer worried about travelling to Gwanda and spending over 200 rand or more on transport,” he said.
“We were not taking animal health seriously but after being educated about it we are now seeing change in our livestock. More farmers are now taking livestock farming as a business and generating income to sustain their families.”
The upgraded centre will ensure that livestock medicines and vaccines are readily available while playing a crucial role in disseminating necessary information to farmers, which will enable them to protect their animals. Livestock production is an integral part of the lives of the people of Matabeleland South.
Commissioning the centre, Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, and Rural Development Deputy Minister Davis Marapira said the delivery of such initiatives as the animal health centre aid to the transformation of the livestock sector.
“Livestock production plays an important role in the social, cultural and economic environment of Zimbabwe. Zeroing onto livestock, the country has over 5.4 million beef cattle herd, 53 250 dairy animals and over 4.8 million goats among other livestock species. This translates to over US$2 billion contribution to the country’s economy hence this sector is indeed a Vision 2030 accelerator,” he said.
Deputy Minister Marapira said the development was a unique milestone by the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) as they collaborated with the EU and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) to implement the SAFE project which contributes to the achievement of the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) targets.
Bongani Ndlovu