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Precious Manomano-Herald Reporter

THE Government will this year inseminate 6 000 cows in a bid to resuscitate the livestock sector. 

So far, 605 dairy cattle, 1 194 beef cattle, 1 526 pigs, and 661 goats have been inseminated, according to statistics from the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development.

Artificial insemination involves the collection of sperm cells from a bull that are deposited manually into the reproductive tract of a cow when it is on heat.

The Department of Veterinary Technical Services (DVTS), in conjunction with the Department of Livestock Research, launched artificial insemination countrywide.

DVTS director Dr Chenai Majuru said the programme will help to increase the national herd and improve breeding.

“As a country, we lost close to 500 000 herd of cattle between 2017 and 2022 due to January disease which left a lot of farmers without cattle at all. We encourage farmers to adopt the concept as a way of increasing herd population. Artificial insemination improves breeds, it reduces inbreeding,” he said.

Dr Majuru said the initiative will increase the calving and conception rates, adding that this will help to boost the national herd.

It will also help to improve the genetic strains through selective breeding.

In this national rollout which is going to be done across the country, the Government will be using milk collection centres for dairy cattle while for beef they will be using different communities.

November to March is the best time to carry out artificial insemination as heifers and cows will be in good body condition for conception.

The process should be done by trained personnel.

In 2020, the Government approved the Livestock Recovery and Growth Plan (2021-2026), whose main thrust is to put in place solid interventions to address livestock production.

The livestock sector contributes significantly to the inclusive growth and development of the national economy and is positioned to take a key role in the current national inclusive transformation agenda towards the attainment of Vision 2030.