The Sunday News
Dumisani Nsingo, Senior Farming Reporter
MATABELELAND show societies have praised the launch of the livestock competition at the newly rebranded Zimbabwe Agricultural Show as a major step towards improving the country’s animal breeds.
The Zimbabwe Agricultural Society (ZAS) will this year introduce a livestock competition at the Zimbabwe Agricultural Show (formerly referred to as the Harare Agricultural Show) as part of its efforts to motivate communal farmers to enhance their productivity.
The country’s apex agricultural show over the years had tobacco, cotton and agro-produce sections exhibitions. This year’s exhibition will be held on 26 to 31 August under the theme: “Technology, Innovation, Modernisation: Adopt, Accelerate, Accentuate”.
Matabeleland South Agricultural Show Society (MSASS) president Mr George Chipengo said the hosting of a livestock competition by ZAS would enable farmers to improve the quality of animals.
“We have always been staging both crop and livestock sections at our annual show. Our livestock section caters for virtually all forms of stock including cattle, in particular bulls and heifers. However, the initiative by ZAS to incorporate livestock at this year’s national show is a step in the right direction as it promotes improved grade and quality of livestock and also encourages farmers to enhance their animal husbandry practice,” he said.
Mr Chipengo said the competition would also play a big part in changing the mindset of most communal farmers to embrace livestock farming as a business.
“We hope this newly-introduced competition will also encourage communal farmers to go commercial, taking into cognisance that some of the farmers benefited from good genetic heifers under Government’s Command Livestock programme. It’s now up to the farmers whether to buy a high quality bull as an individual or as a group so as to improve the quality of their herd of cattle and that way one is assured of better returns,” he said.
He also pointed out that his society had managed to refurbish its cattle auction sale pens as part of its efforts to host livestock sales of a high magnitude whose ripple effects would have a positive impact to the province’s economy.
“We have now refurbished our cattle sale pens at the showgrounds into state-of-the-art facilities, possibly the best in Matabeleland region at the present moment and we are now able to host special sales by commercial farmers and we expect one such sale in September. We were used to having fortnight public cattle sales but at the moment we are now able to host specialised cattle sales and the whole essence is to enhance the quality of cattle in our area,” said Mr Chipengo.
Chairperson of the newly-rebranded Matabeleland North Annual Agricultural Show Mr Herbert Sansole said efforts to hold a livestock exhibition have over the years been frustrated by perennial outbreaks of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD).
Matabeleland North Annual Agricultural Show has over the years been running as the Hwange Agricultural Show premised on its location in the coal mining town.
“We have always been trying to motivate livestock farmers to exhibit at our show but perennial FMD outbreaks have always been frustrating our efforts even when we would have repaired our exhibition pens there wouldn’t be any displays thus as it is we have somehow given up,” he said.
Mr Sansole said in light of the introduction of the livestock competition at the Zimbabwe Agricultural Show there was a need for the Department of Crop and Livestock to intensify its extension programme.
“The move by ZAS to introduce livestock competition is applauded but in my opinion there’s a need for our extension officers from the Department of Crop and Livestock to motivate farmers at local level to embark on proper livestock breeding and management skills,” he said.
Matabeleland is in ecological region five, which is dry and not suitable for crop farming as compared to other regions but thrives on cattle production.
@DNsingo
