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Senior Business Reporter
LANDS, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Deputy Minister, Davis Marapira, has challenged livestock farmers in the country to work harder to grow the national herd beyond the stagnant five million figure saying the potential to do is higher.

Given favourable local climatic conditions and good pastures, farmers must not be comfortable with a minimum livestock population but should produce more cattle like their regional counterparts, he said.

The Deputy Minister said Government was ready to play its part to ensure aggressive livestock production including exploring artificial insemination technology and importation of quality breeds to boost the national herd.

Artificial insemination is the collection of sperm cells from a bull, which are deposited manually into the reproductive tract of a cow when it is in heat.

Zimbabwe’s national herd has been hovering around five million for many years with subdued numbers blamed on poor breeding practices and high mortality rates linked to inadequate animal disease control.

Under the Second Republic led by President Mnangagwa, the livestock value chain has been identified as a key pillar of the agriculture sector.

Livestock and Meat Advisory Council

This has prompted the Government and private sector players to increase support for farmers to unlock higher industrial benefits from the value chain.

Last year, the Veterinary Services Department started to roll out an artificial insemination programme in rural areas as a way to improve national herd genetics.

Department of Veterinary Services

Speaking in Bulawayo on Wednesday Deputy Minister Marapira said the Government was keen on solid growth of the livestock sector and urged safeguarding of slaughter of breeding heifers so as to increase the cattle population.

“We are more serious about developing our cattle population. For the last 10 years, we have been told that our cattle population is five million, there is no growth of more than five million,” he said.

“The reason is that people were slaughtering heifers and because of that the policy we have as Government is to make sure that we safeguard slaughtering of breeding heifers so that we increase the population.”

Cleopatra S Ncube, a veterinary extension worker, from Ward 19, in Insiza District during a cattle artificial insemination training workshop in Bulawayo.

To further boost the national herd, artificial insemination thrust is being pursued.

“We are looking at artificial insemination where, as the Government, we will import semen from all over the world, generate semen from our bulls and make sure that our rural areas can access good quality semen and improve their genetics,” said Marapira.