Blessings Chidakwa in Kadoma
Zimplats has made a request to Mhondoro-Ngezi Rural District Council for permission to lease some of its mining claims for commercial ranching.

According to the request, the local authority is set to benefit through collection of lease rentals.

Mhondoro-Ngezi RDC has since given the nod to the request according to its recently held lands committee meeting.

“A request was being sort to lease land for cattle ranching in Chomureza mountain ranch (Portal 7 and 8) to at least three ranchers,” reads the minutes.

“These portals were Zimplats mining claims and the lease rentals are to be paid to council. As the lands committee we recommend that permission be granted to the request.”

The local authority, as part of their agreement, ordered that no permanent structures were to be erected at the cattle ranching site.

The request comes barely a month after Zimplats partnered Zimbabwe Agricultural Society with support from the Mines and Lands, Agriculture and Rural Settlement ministries in the rural capacity building programme.

The programme entailed the creation of livestock incubation centres in Mhondoro (Mashonaland West), Matabeleland North and Matabeleland South where training in sustainable livestock rearing and crop production was to be undertaken.

Zimplats also made a self-commitment to fund the artificial insemination programme to increase livestock production and improve genetics.

The first phase is target inseminating 6 000 semen straws into a livestock population of 3 600.

This would potentially produce 1 800 bulls and 1 800 heifers. Once successfully running, the programme is expected to be self-sustaining in the long term.

The insemination programme is also expected to empower communal farmers with better livestock rearing practices so as to ensure sustainability.