The livestock situation in Matabeleland South province, which lost over 12 000 cattle last year, is now under control due to an improved supply of pasture and water, an expert has said.
By Our Correspondent
Over 12 700 cattle reportedly perished last year in Matabeleland South due to drought. However, Matabeleland South chief livestock specialist Simangaliphi Ngwabi said this year the livestock was not under threat.
“The situation is under control because there was good rainfall this year. If you travel around the entire province you can see that the condition of our livestock is fair to good and I am confident that we will have a fair season up to the onset of the rain season. I am confident that we are not likely to have any deaths and so far we have not lost any cattle,” said Ngwabi.
Gwabi said some Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) were also providing supplementary feed to needy areas such as Gwanda South. “There is feed which was provided by FAO and farmers are buying it to supplement their pastures, especially in Gwanda South where there is a problem of grazing ,” said the official.
She said that during the same period last year, the province had already recorded many livestock deaths.
“In 2012, we started losing cattle as early as March and so far we have not recorded any deaths. The water situation is quite good and the boreholes have not dried up. We had good rains that actually raised the water table,” she said.
A visit to some areas in Matabeleland South also confirmed that the situation had improved as some dams still had water that could last up to the beginning of the rainy season.
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A farmer in the area, Thabani Mpofu, said due to the improved water situation this year, the calving rate was high.
“We hope this coming season we will again have more rains and be able to restock our cattle that have died in the past years due to drought,” said Mpofu.
Matabeleland South region has an estimated 556 619 cattle, contributing about 10% to the national herd. The region used to be the country’s prime cattle producing area but the recurrent droughts since 1992 decimated about 60% of the province’s head.
