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Andile Tshuma, Chronicle Reporter

 MATABELELAND South farmers have been urged to cull their livestock to reduce losses as the province braces for another drought due to the El Nino effect.

The department of crop and livestock in the province said farmers should cash in on their livestock while they were still in good shape instead of watching them die of hunger.

Farmers were advised to embark on selective destocking to curb drought effects that could lead to whole herds being wiped out. 

Matabeleland provincial livestock production and development officer, Mrs Simangaliphi Ngwabi, said the province did not have adequate pastures to cater for the 500 000 cattle throughout the year as a result of drought.

“The state of livestock at this moment is fair to poor, however, normally cattle should be at their prime at this time as it is the rainy season. The rains are so erratic and we have not had much grass growing,” said Mrs Ngwabi.

“Farmers must do selective destocking and sell off non-productive beasts so that the money can be used to buy feed and other essentials for the productive herd. Substantial income can be generated from culling livestock. We have some relief as some places received a bit of rain however, we need to ensure that the pastures are not drained,” she said.

Mrs Ngwabi said relief feeding (ukulagisa) was getting less fruitful because the relief grazing pastures were getting exhausted as livestock were feeding from them on an almost permanent basis.

“The situation is dire and we are most likely not going to have any grass left in the next two or three months. Cattle are exhausting all the grass around and it has not yet seeded, meaning we will have a problem again next year as no seeds will germinate,” she said.

Mrs Ngwabi said farmers were also facing a dilemma of exorbitant prices of stock feed as most could not afford to feed their livestock.

She said more farmers were beginning to take heed of Agritex advice to cull their herds.

 “Farmers are gradually understanding the concept of culling their herds as they have realised that it’s better than watching cattle die of hunger. It is better to sell part of the herd and invest in stock feed to ensure that the remaining herd does not succumb to hunger,” Mrs Ngwabi said.

 Although she could not give exact figures at the time, she said numbers of livestock deaths had not increased as much as they were feared to, as some farmers rushed to cull before the animals succumbed to hunger.

 “Now is the best time to downsize or cull livestock as animals are at their prime, albeit not so good under the circumstances. The prices are competitive on the market as a beast can fetch an average of $1 000,” said Mrs Ngwabi.

 She said culling of livestock had proven to be a mitigating factor that worked well for most farmers across the country in such situations.

 “We need to have a mindset change among farmers because if they stick to the old perception that having many cattle is a sign of wealth, they will end up losing more. They should be wary of climate change issues,” Mrs Ngwabi said.

 “Farmers need to cull their animals. They need to get rid of the old unproductive animals. They should not wait until animals lose their good shape. They should dispose them on time so that they get better value for money”.

—@andile_tshuma