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Sydney Kawadza Senior Features Writer
The Chikomba community in Mashonaland East has invested in cattle rearing and this has led to the successful establishment of dairy and cattle fattening projects.
Communal, A1 and small-scale farmers are all involved in this lucrative business.

The Nharira-Lancashire Dairy Co-operative has set high standards and is providing dairy products not only in Chikomba District but has spread its tentacles to Buhera and Gutu districts in Manicaland and Masvingo provinces.

Dairy processor, Mr Bonface Mumbu believes if people can continue growing their herd in Chikomba central then the constituency can produce for the development of the area and adjoining districts.

“Farmers at Lancashire and Wilshire produce the bulk of the milk while some villagers also produce milk that we process. But out of the 190 farmers who are members of the co-operative only 44 are supplying milk to the dairy.

“The milk production eases during the dry season because cattle lack viable grazing areas and instead of processing 1 500 litres of milk on a daily basis we get as little as 200-300 litres for our products,” he said.

The dairy, which produces Amasi milk, yoghurt and other dairy products, has a ready market at St Francis Assisi, Daramombe and Makumbe boarding schools in the district while other schools in Buhera and Gutu districts have also benefited from the co-operative.

“Our market is large but because we do not have the products we have been forced to cut our supplies. There are retail markets not only in the district but in Gutu as far as Mupandawana and Murambinda in Buhera but we are failing to supply those markets,” he said.

Mr Mumbu said there was need for the farmers to take up dairy farming seriously.

“There are petty issues in the co-operative such as leadership but these do not have a major significance. We look at the benefits at the end of the day. Investing in dairy cows can also ensure food security for the villagers and there is always an income from the venture,” he said.

He bemoaned the lack of buy-in from the villagers to venture into the projects.

“Some organisations have pledged to provide the cows but some villagers and farmers are not taking up such initiatives and this is surprising because the dairy co-operative needs the milk to grow.”

The Nharira-Lancashire Dairy Co-operative was established in 1986 and was officially commissioned by the late Vice President Joshua Nkomo in 1992 and has been growing in membership before the recent slump.

Ward 16 Councillor Michael Mushure said there was also need to introduce various cattle projects in the ward.

“We value the development of our cattle herd but there is need to introduce variety. We have since started cattle fattening projects and this looks like it’s going to be the project to rack in the money,” he said during a tour of the new cattle pens at Nharira Business Centre.

A former member of the Chikomba Development Association, however, lamented the destruction of pastures for serious cattle production in the district and in Chikomba central in particular.

“The constituency can do well in cattle but the pastures have been dwindling as the people built new homes. However, there is serious need to look at rehabilitating the three irrigation schemes at Sachipiri, Nyahoni and Manyanga.

“The people in Chikomba are generally hard-working and the irrigation schemes can produce food for the whole district. There is real need for the leaders in the district to push for the development of these projects that can help the area develop,” she said.

She said there was also need for the establishment of money clubs that can assist the under-privileged in Chikomba Central.

“There are families dominated by the widowed, aged and child-headed households and these should be targeted for developmental projects. The orphaned children can also be assisted if the Penfather Training Centre can be resuscitated so that children can receive training in other trades,” she said.

Chikomba central legislator Mr Felix Mhona said his efforts to develop the constituency would be anchored on the clusters as indicated in the Zim Asset policy document.

“We have 10 wards in the constituency and have since held workshops for the councillors where we identified the various issues affecting the people in the constituency. One of the major issues we have to work on and was of major importance was identified as food security.

“We have since identified the three irrigation projects in the constituency as prime areas that need development. We want to build a reservoir at Chikwezvero Irrigation Scheme which will also assist even the communities surrounding the project,” he said.

MP Mhona said they had also approached the Zimbabwe National Water Authority to rehabilitate the dam wall at Sachipiri Irrigation.

“The wall has been leaking and we hope that engineers from Zinwa would look at the problems affecting the dam wall so that the scheme can produce more for the constituency and the district in general.”

He added that since his constituency was in a cattle ranching district, the authorities were working on building dip tanks in the area.

“We are working on the Gokomere dip tank while mobilising resources for the rehabilitation and construction of other tanks for our cattle.

We are however working on spraying the cattle in place of dipping and this has proved to be quiet effective,” he said.

The Chikomba central legislator said there was need to rehabilitate and resuscitate the Gandame Dairy Co-operative.

“The Nharira dairy is operating well but the farmers at Gandame need assistance so that they start producing milk and other milk products. These are some of the projects that will definitely help in developing the constituency,” he said.

MP Mhona said the constituency received favourable rains in the last agricultural season hence the abundance of grains.

“There are no marked food shortages in the constituency and I would attribute this to the timeous distribution of inputs in the past season.

We hope the inputs would also come early ahead of the season.”

He also paid tribute to farmers who have formed clusters that mobilise their resources for the season.

“The farmers have mobilised funds for seed and fertilisers and some of the groups have already started distributing the inputs to their members ahead of the season,” he said.

According to statistics from the Parliament of Zimbabwe, Chikomba central comprises of Masasa, St Francis Assisi, Daramombe, Zvamatobwe, Kwenda and Gandachibvura.

Parliament also indicated that the people in the area are generally poor due to the economic recession that affected the country in the last decade.

A number of schools in Nharira need to be rebuilt because they are made out of pole and daga. Chikomba central constituency is part of Chikomba Rural District Council.

Parliament also noted that: “The constituency has the potential to make significant contributions to the growth of the economy through cattle ranching; hence it should be given adequate support in the form of chemicals and infrastructure development. There is huge demand for beef both locally and on the international market.”

It recommended that more dips be constructed due to the large herd of cattle in the constituency while broken down boreholes and wells required rehabilitation for the benefit of livestock and people in the constituency.

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