No pasture for cattle
Farmers have been left with no choice but to buy grass and animal feed for their cattle as pasture for livestock has been wiped out by the drought.
Cattle farmers cannot afford to keep their livestock alive.
“I bought two bales of grass for $10 each from a Harare based agro-dealing company last week. The bales are not enough because they cannot feed all my cattle. For me to adequately cover my herd of 30 cattle, I need about 10 bales of grass per week,” said Ishmael Ndabeni, a farmer in the area.
Ndabeni said he could not afford to buy the meal that was being sold at $25 for a 50kg bag. Farmers who spoke to The Zimbabwean said unless the government intervened, their livestock would be wiped out by the drought.
The loss of pasture has also resulted in cattle sales being at an all time low of $200-$300.
Addressing members of the civil society in Bulawayo recently, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said the government had come up with a supplementary feeding scheme to rescue cattle in Matabeleland from starvation.
“The role of cattle in the livelihood of our community and the country’s economy cannot be over emphasized. I can assure you that the government is doing everything to save the cattle,” he said.