Livestock farmers are more likely to be affected by the impending drought

BULAWAYO — Livestock farmers have been warned that they are likely to be affected by the effects of climate change more than their counterparts in crop production.
The warning was made by the Matopo Research Station’s principal research officer, Trinity Senda-Ndlovu while addressing a stakeholders’ climate change workshop in Bulawayo recently.
Senda-Ndlovu said it was high time cattle farmers took climate change seriously if they were to avert disaster. He said their survival largely depended on stock feed availability.
Senda-Ndlovu said that should a livestock farmer lose cattle to drought, it could take them many years to recover. He cited the 2012-2013 season as an example when over 9 000 cattle died in Matabeleland South.
“You might even remember that there was a government programme to support cattle farmers with supplementary feed and some of them are still not back on their feet to date,” said Senda-Ndlovu.
“Feed availability is very important for livestock and mortality is strongly related to feed availability. I think you have realised that in areas such as Gwanda cattle die between August and December.”
She said climate change created many challenges for cattle farmers that included emergence of new pests and diseases in the process making cattle breeding costly.

“There are some ticks which are common in warm areas and some ticks which are common in colder areas, but now with the impact of changes in temperature patterns, you will find that these ticks are now being found in areas which they would not have been found before,” Senda-Ndlovu said.
With climate change information, usually given at a global scale, there was need for localised assessment of the impact, rather than simply generalising the issues.
“We still need to know the climate change impact on the animal itself. How will the changes in temperature affect the animal, how will the changes in rainfall affect the animal,” she noted adding that it was important for farmers to be knowledgeable on the impact of changes in temperature, heat wave, dry spells, cold spells and rainfall patterns on their livestock in order to take precautionary measures..
For dairy breeds she said a temperature increase of over 22 percent results in a 50 percent decline in milk production.
The Matabeleland South regional Meteorology officer, Rodgers Munyira said due to climate change, Zimbabwe has recorded an increase in dry storms that bring hail instead of rains, and up to 11 days of dry spells compared to four in the past.
As mitigation measures, Senda-Ndlovu said farmers now have to grow crops for feeding livestock.
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