As Zimbabwe is going through an arid spell and there are fears that livestock could die as the effects of the climate change wreaking havoc across the country, surprisingly a different story is to be told in Chipinge.
Following recent reports on carcases of dead cattle which went viral, and smallholder farmers lost thousands of cattle due to a combination of water and food shortages as well as diseases, The United States Agency for International Development, (USAID) through its Feed the Future program came to rescue.
Chipinge was hard hit and it was left counting severe losses amid revelations that thousands of cattle died due to starvation in the district, with the hardest hit areas in the Low veld Wards 1, 3, 4, 16 and 20. Parts of Wards 21, 22, 24, 25 and 26 were also affected.
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Manicaland Provincial Administrator, Farai Mbetsa confirmed the horrific disaster saying that about 3000 cattle were reported dead last year due to hunger and starvation that has hard hit the country, but he noted that with the help USAID a rapid change can be noted.
“Chipinge farmers had lost more than 3000 cattle as reported last year, but with the help of USAID wchich funded the small holder farmers to boost cattle ranching projects,” he said.
Chipinge District is a controlled zone that stretches to Chiredzi due to its proneness to the dangerous anthrax and foot and mouth diseases and as a result cattle movement to other districts is prohibited.
Farmers in the area ended up only selling or barter trading within the controlled zone, resulting in cattle prices plummeting to as little as $20, as a last option.
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Animals were relying on drying borehole water sharing water with people.
One of the Farmers who identified himself as Ladson Muponesi said that with the help of the funds from USAID he managed to recover the health of his cattle which he was about to lose from the severe drought.
“After cattle have started to die of hunger, USAID came with funds and we were taught how to save my cattle through the ‘feed the future project, now my cattle are healthy,” he said.
He added that they were taught to buy and keep the feeds of the livestock.
He also said he can now sell his cattle for a fair price.
Another small holder Chipinge farmer who was heavily affected by the drought, Angeline Garwe echoed the above sentiments saying that the ‘feed the future project’ funded by the USAID really changed the situation after she had witnessed most of the cattle dying.
“Most of our cattle died last year November due to water shortages, now we can feed our livestock
As if this is enough, a part of the $155 million five year deal which set to address hunger problem in Zimbabwe also goes to the Birirano village which is one among a number of the country’s villages that have been left behind by the ever ticking clock of development.
USAID set to rehabilitate more water points in that hardest hit areas, funding the dam construction project for people to grow crops that can brought hunger to an end.
