Obert Chifamba Agri-Insight

BEFORE you go through today’s instalment, it is only civil that you observe a minute of silence and pay homage to the late Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement Minister Air Chief Marshal (Retired) Perrance Shiri, whose selfless efforts have in a very short space of time helped shape the agricultural landscape into what it is today.

Surely, the man went away too soon. May his dear soul rest in eternal peace.

Minister Shiri’s departure came just a few months after the second and final national crop and livestock assessment report was published and had exposed areas that needed interventions to start functioning profitably, with the cattle sector sticking out like a sore thumb, all thanks to the drought and disease inspired deaths ravaging it.

The report indicated that the national average cattle mortality increased from five percent in 2018 to nine percent in 2019, yet the acceptable national average mortality rate is five percent.

Essentially, the high mortality together with low cow productivity mentioned in the report have contributed to the reduction in the of the national cattle herd.

Of course, the highest mortality was recorded in Matabeleland North province followed by Midlands and Masvingo provinces.

And these high mortalities were attributed to drought and diseases.

Matabeleland South, Masvingo and Matabeleland North experienced the highest drought related cattle deaths, while Mashonaland East recorded the lowest deaths.

Drought mitigation activities carried out to avert losses included the adoption of the Zimbabwe Resilience Building Fund, which provided training on feed formulation to farmers, promoting pasture production and providing subsidised commercial feeds in 17 districts across the country through its implementing partners.

There was relief grazing in Matabeleland South, Matabeleland North and Masvingo provinces, while de-stocking was the other option some farmers adopted to save their herds.

But this route naturally does not have many willing takers.

Most farmers are not comfortable disposing cattle, as they keep the beasts for sentimental reasons in most cases.

They get a lot of gratification from being touted as the ones with the biggest numbers of cattle.

The saddening reality is that the bulk, if not most of the losses, could have been curtailed if the farmers had been proactive and had planned for the future of their cattle.

For diseases, the usual culprits — ticks – were guilty of spreading diseases like Theileriosis that wreaked havoc across the country claiming in excess of 100 000 beasts.

These losses could have been avoided if farmers had practised regular dipping.

They needed to secure their own dipping chemicals and not wait for those dispensed by Government through the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS), whose availability was always erratic because of the difficult economic situation the country is going through.

On the other hand, farmers could have helped their cause by buying stock feeds to feed their animals.

Many farmers always claim that they do not have money to buy either dipping chemicals or stock feeds to save their herds, but the truth is that they just do not have the guts to sell a few to save many using proceeds from the sale.

It is disappointing to note that the national beef cattle herd has since declined by 5.7 percent from 5 774 525 cattle in 2018 to 5 443 770 cattle in 2019, while the national calving rates range from 34 percent in communal areas to 46 percent in the large-scale commercial sector against a national target of 60 percent.

The major reasons for the reduction in cattle numbers are always the same — drought that led to reduced productivity and diseases, which caused some of the deaths, while forced sales and slaughters related to both drought and diseases also claimed their fair share of the problem.

For now, the condition of beef cattle is generally fair to good in most districts except in some parts of Beitbridge, Chiredzi, Matobo, Mberengwa, Bubi and Umguza districts.

The grazing condition at the time of assessment was mostly fair except in Beitbridge, Gwanda, Tsholotsho, Buhera and Bulilima districts where the condition is fair to poor.

The condition of grazing is expected to deteriorate as the season progresses. Available grazing is expected to last for four to eight months in most districts.  The southern districts will have to consider alternative feed sources like browse, hay and supplementary feeds.

For the other provinces, communal areas will have shortage of grazing due to over-stocking on generally poor quality veld.

Districts in Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South, parts of Masvingo and Midlands provinces are experiencing water challenges as livestock are beginning to move long distances to perennial water sources such as dams, boreholes and rivers.

At the moment, grazing availability is critical in some districts of Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South, southern districts of Midlands and Masvingo where it was expected to last up to last month.

In most districts of the Mashonaland Provinces and Manicaland, available grazing is expected to last between four and eight months, while water is still available in most districts, but shortages are expected in the traditionally dry parts of Midlands and the southern provinces before the next rainy season.

This again calls for concerted efforts by farmers to drill boreholes from where they can water their cattle and save them from travelling long distances in search of the precious liquid.

If Minister Shiri’s term had unfortunately not been abruptly ended, the cattle industry, just like the crop sector would also have started recording a lot of positives from his generous developmental plans.

In Matabeleland South, cattle farmers will readily confess that the late Minister Shiri had great plans for the cattle industry after the launch of the command livestock programme in which they were working hand in hand with him.

National Institution of Livestock Farmers Union, chairperson, Mr Sifiso Sibanda last week said since Minister Shiri’s assumption of the post of Minister of Agriculture, a lot had changed in the agriculture sector and many farmers had benefited from
his hands-on approach way of doing business.