Massive Livestock Deaths as Drought Hits Masvingo
5 January 2016
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By Terrence Mawawa, Masvingo |The Province of Masvingo, a perennial drought prone zone has once again been rocked by the disaster and massive deaths of livestock have been reported across the province.
Although state broadcaster ZBC weakly reported that efforts were underway to avert drought, investigations by ZimEye.com revealed hundreds of cattle and donkeys are dying in Chiredzi’s Chikombedzi, Boli and Mhlanguleni areas while villagers face looming starvation.
According to Agritex officials at Benjamin Burombo Building in Masvingo, Chiredzi, Chivi and Zimuto areas are the worst affected by the drought with villagers already surviving on one meal a day. AGRITEX further indicated government had no capacity to combat the drought catastrophe.
“We can now declare Masvingo Province “a danger zone” in terms of the intensity of Drought. Crops in Chivi, Chiredzi and Zimuto are a total write off and at the moment we are just waiting for donor assistance since the government alone cannot combat drought,” said an AGRITEX official.
Meanwhile it has also been reported villagers in Chikombedzi are selling one beast for as little as $ 50 to avoid total loss since cattle are dying in the area. Under normal circumstances one beast costs $ 400.
Villagers in Chiredzi District have been neglected by the government for years and despite the fact that the area is a Zanu PF stronghold local people have continued to grapple with poverty and drought among other social ills.