The Sunday News
MATABELELAND South Province has so far recorded no livestock drought-related deaths on the back of improved pastures because of the rains recorded last summer, an official has said. In an interview with Sunday Business last week, Matabeleland South Chief Livestock specialist, Mrs Simangaliphi Ngwabi, said the cattle situation was under control in a province that has previously recorded thousands of cattle deaths due to incessant droughts.
“The situation is quite under control as you are quite aware that there was good rainfall spread across the provinces this year,” said the specialist.
Mrs Ngwabi said some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) were also providing supplementary feed to needy areas such as Gwanda South.
“However, you will find that a district like Gwanda, especially Gwanda South, the problem of grazing is that the land has been overutilised such that even if it rains we will not get the grass cover but the situation is under control in the sense that there is feed which was provided by FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation) and World Vision is monitoring that and farmers are buying this supplementary feed,” said the official.
“If you move around the province the livestock condition is fair to good and I am confident that we will have a fair season up to the onset of the rain season. I am confident that we are not likely to have any deaths and so far we have not lost any cattle,” said Mrs Ngwabi.
She revealed that in the same period last year, the province had already recorded many livestock deaths.
“If you remember in 2012, we started losing cattle as early as March and so far we have not recorded any poverty deaths. The water situation is quite good and the boreholes have not dried up. We had good rainfall that actually raised the water table,” she said and added that the calving percentage was likely to go up this year.
She said despite the province losing livestock in the past years, the province was still the biggest supplier of beef in the country.
“Matabeleland South is still the biggest player in the cattle industry because in terms of quality the province still produces the best meat in the country,” she said.
Matabeleland South region has about 556 619 cattle contributing about 10 percent to the national herd.
Recently the Matabeleland North Women Livestock Association chairperson Mrs Estinah Sinyoro also echoed the same sentiments and said there was enough pasture for livestock which could last the whole year.
“There is a lot of grazing for the animals this year like here in Bubi and I don’t think our cattle will finish it before the start of the next rain season,” said Mrs Sinyoro.
This year livestock farmers heaved a huge sigh of relief following heavy rains after years of drought.
Matabeleland region used to be the country’s prime cattle producing area but recurrent droughts since 1992 reportedly killed about 60 percent of the province’s head.
Reports said a total of 12 721 cattle were lost due to drought last year in Matabeleland South due to drought related challenges.
Livestock farmers in Matabeleland North last year were also not spared as their cattle also succumbed to various diseases such as heartwater.
