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Rumbidzayi Zinyuke Manicaland Bureau
Government through the District Development Fund (DDF) has embarked on a tillage programme in Buhera District for farmers who lost their cattle to a tick-borne disease known as January disease.

This comes as more than 4 000 cattle have been reported dead from the disease, which is caused by not dipping cattle regularly.

There has been a severe shortages of chemicals that has disrupted the communal dipping programme, with cattle going for more than two months without dipping.

There have been reports that livestock in Makoni and other districts have also succumbed to the disease.
As a result, many farmers have been left without draught power.

Agritex provincial head Mrs Phillipa Rwambiwa said although the tillage programme could not cover all affected farmers due to limited equipment, it would go a long way to assist them to plant their crops this season and prevent hunger.

“We are also encouraging our farmers to focus on conservation agriculture where hoes are mainly used to make holes instead of turning the whole soil,” she said.

DDF provincial head Mr Robert Chawatama said they would till 0,4 hectares for each farmer.
“We are assisting those farmers with livestock that succumbed to January disease by tilling 0,4 ha, which is one acre, for free so that they can get started. In most cases most of them no longer have any form of draught power,” he said

Speaking at a Zanu-PF Manicaland inter district conference in Mutare at the weekend, Minister of State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs Dr Ellen Gwaradzimba said there was need for the Government to put money towards the purchase of dip chemicals to ensure livestock does not continue to die.

“We have a crisis, in Manicaland. Our animals are dying because of lack of dipping chemicals. Buhera alone has lost more than 4 000.

‘‘Cattle are a source of livelihood for most people and we need to come up with solutions to ensure that our cows dip and we fight the disease. We need to channel more money towards this,” she said.

Communities in Buhera survive on subsistence farming, but climate change has not spared the district, with rainfall patterns changing every year and yields falling, factors which have contributed to high levels of poverty.