Thupeyo Muleya, Beitbridge Bureau

GOVERNMENT and communities in Matabeleland region, especially Beitbridge should jointly work with small-scale farmers in mitigating the effects of a devastating drought that has killed a lot of livestock.

Zanu-PF Beitbridge West legislator Mrs Ruth Maboyi said this in a recent interview with Business Chronicle highlighting that livestock production, mainly cattle, was as source of livelihood for most people in the area.

She said the prevailing drought had also been made worse by the dwindling water table.

Mrs Maboyi said it was important for people to sell wasted animals and use the proceeds to buy stock feed for those still showing better signs of life.

“The drought is devastating. We had hoped for early rains but unfortunately the situation remains dire.

“We have been encouraging the farmers to sell part of their livestock and procure stock feed, but it is difficult for them considering that the animals continue to die.

“We need to get to a point where communities and Government come to a consensus on how to adapt to this drought,” said the legislator. 

“However, we are hopeful that we will have rains to save the few cattle that remain”.

Mrs Maboyi said the situation in the grazing lands was disheartening adding that there was a strong need for Government and other stakeholders to avail more stock feed at relatively lower prices.

“The water situation is also bad and, in some areas, if not most of them, we would need to deepen and drill more boreholes to improve water access by both people and livestock.

“We understand that Government has deployed equipment to drill boreholes to provincial capitals, though we are yet to receive them here in Beitbridge. 

“We are going to approach the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs (Abednico Ncube) for him to expedite the distribution process,” she said.

Beitbridge has an estimated 150 000 cattle where 4 548 poverty-related deaths have been recorded in the 2018/19 farming season.