Cows take up residence in bid to stop soil erosion

Clement Bizimungu, a widow and carer for three orphaned children, beamed broadly after receiving a heifer from the Bureau Social De Gitarama in Kabacuzi sector, where a cattle restocking programme is under way.



“This is the happiest day of my life; I will do whatever it takes to rear this cow well; most importantly, it may soon start giving me milk,” she told IRIN.



Bizimungu, an ethnic Tutsi, lost her husband and three children during the genocide. Like most people in the area, Bizimungu says it has been hard to come to terms with life after 1994, which in addition to leaving many orphans and widows, also led to the massive slaughtering of cattle, a hitherto vital economic asset and source of protein, in a country where “close to half of all children under the age of five suffer from chronic malnutrition”, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).



However, the government is also seeking to ensure that restocking does not exacerbate soil erosion, which is blamed for washing away up to 15 million MT of soil every year in the mountainous country.



According to Yvonne Mutakwasuku, the mayor of Muhanga district, government’s new policy is that all households with cattle must practise zero grazing - where cattle are grazed indoors - to ensure they do not destroy the terraces that control erosion. Soil erosion, loss of soil fertility, as well as land fragmentation, have been singled out as major threats to Rwanda’s food security in recent years.



Herbert Ruzindana, the executive secretary of the Kabacuzi sector, said households that left their animals to wander in villages faced penalties and fines.



Last year, Rwanda’s agriculture ministry announced plans to cut soil erosion to zero by 2010.



Cattle distribution



Fredrick Musonari, the administrator for the Swiss-funded foundation, Bureau Social De Gitarama, which is spearheading the cattle restocking, said that since 2004, it had distributed 25,000 heads of cattle throughout the country. Last year, at least 1,800 cows were distributed in Muhanga district, one of the hardest hit by the genocide.



“We have also built 15 primary schools in Gitarama. Our aim is to keep rolling out the programmes until we have covered the whole country in the next three years,” he said.



Most of the cows for restocking were initially imported from Uganda and Tanzania; however, the cattle population is steadily improving and now the foundation sources them locally, he added.



Most of the beneficiaries are poor households, widow- and child-headed homes, as well as families that have fostered orphans. Beneficiaries have to look after the cows well and ensure they give the first calf to their immediate neighbour.



“By doing this, we are fostering reconciliation and cooperation to avoid tensions between the haves and the have-nots,” he added.



According to Mutakwasuku, government plays a supervisory role in the project to ensure there is peace and order during the exercise. A government veterinary expert monitors the cows and distributes drugs to ensure that livestock diseases are controlled.



“We have come a long way since the genocide and we believe that restocking will help reduce poverty,” she said.



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