Almost 10 000 cattle have succumbed to drought since the beginning of the 2023/2024 farming season, with Matabeleland North and Matabeleland South having suffered the highest losses, a government official has stated.
This was stated by the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Dr Anxious Masuka, during the post-cabinet briefing on Tuesday.
Zimbabwe is one of the countries in southern Africa immensely affected by the El-Nino-induced drought, with estimations of acute food shortages for people and livestock.
“Regarding livestock, the impact of the El Nino-induced weather conditions on water supply and grazing availability for livestock resulted in the loss of 9 941 cattle at the beginning of the 2023/2024 season,” Dr Masuka said.
“The most affected districts are Tsholotsho and Binga of Matabeleland North province and Mangwe and Bulilima districts of Matabeleland South province. Forty-seven percent of the wards will face a critical grazing shortage from July 2024 onwards, while 12% are assured of adequate grazing to the next season.”
Dr Masuka further highlighted that according to the Second Round Crops, Livestock and Fisheries Assessment Report, both agricultural production and productivity for the 2023/2024 agricultural season were severely and negatively impacted by the drought.
“A total of 1 777 540 hectares was planted to maize in the 2023/2024 season, which represents a 7% reduction on the target area of 1 782 000 hectares. The area planted to maize was 12% lower than the previous year, and this was a reflection of agro-ecological tailoring, which entails a shift to traditional grains in drier regions. There was a 16% increase in the hectarage planted under traditional crops from 533 625 hectares to 621 048 hectares,” he said.
“Cumulatively, the area under cereals (maize and traditional grains) was 2 496 201 hectares, and was initially expected to yield 2 579 237 metric tonnes. However, a 77% reduction in production to 744 271 metric tonnes is estimated for the 2023/2024 summer season, indicating a major shortfall for both food and stock feed.”
