Livestock decimated by drought in Matabeleland

World Vision has warned that urgent interventions are needed to address the decimation of livestock and the consequent erosion of household security in Zimbabwe.

During the past three months, about 35,000 head of cattle have been lost to drought in Zimbabwe's Matabeleland South province, the relief NGO said in its latest report.

Half of Zimbabwe's population face hunger due to a combination of drought, the impact of the government's fast-track land reform on commercial agriculture, and the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

The loss of livestock resulting from drought in Matabeleland South province was further eroding the coping mechanisms of affected communities, World Vision said. The hardest hit areas were Beitbridge and Gwanda, along the border with South Africa.

A concept paper has been developed by World Vision Zimbabwe to look into ways of bringing relief to counter the loss of livestock in the province.

"Currently, World Vision has no relief programme on livestock and proposals are being developed for various donors to address the emergency livestock situation through supplementary feeding for breeding stock, and community-based livestock health initiatives," the NGO said.

The maintenance of tillage capacity was being integrated into all new agricultural recovery proposals for the up-coming season.

"The loss of cattle has depleted [the] draught power capacity of most communities. Smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe rely heavily upon livestock for ploughing. Livestock losses, and the declining health of remaining stock, seriously impacts agricultural productivity," World Vision added.

Farmers had been reduced to ploughing by hand. "This additional labour demand has devastating effects on household food security, especially given the existing labour constraints associated with the high HIV/AIDS prevalence in the communities," World Vision noted.

The organisation added that besides draught power, communities also relied on cattle to trade for cash so they could purchase basic commodities.