VILLAGERS in Mbembesi under Chief Ndondo in Umguza District, Matabeleland North Province, have embarked on an ambitious goat feed growing project which is expected to complement Government’s Presidential Goat Scheme, a brainchild of President Mnangagwa.
The Presidential Goat Scheme is targeting 600 000 farmers nationwide and seeks to ensure food security while economically empowering communities as the country moves towards achieving its target of having an upper middle-income economy by the year 2030.
The scheme is among a raft of measures launched by the Second Republic in crop and livestock sectors to rapidly build the output and capacity of small-scale sectors and ensure the overwhelming majority of rural households are able to enter the commercial sector.
Under the full scheme, 35 000 bucks (male goats) and 597 000 does (female goats) will be distributed in all the villages in the country, in fulfillment of the leaving no one and no place behind philosophy.
The bucks are being assigned as three for each chief, two for each headman, and one to each village head while the does are distributed to the farmers.
Also set to benefit under the scheme are the elderly, women-headed families, people living with disabilities and youth-headed families as defined in the report of the Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee.
The basic thrust is to introduce good genetics to the communities to upgrade the quality of goat production.
Mbembesi is generally dry and is heavily deforested, posing a threat to livestock in general and the Presidential Goat Scheme in particular. Three hundred trees were planted with experts saying the species planted was a fast-growing one and in two years’ time the community will be able to harvest leaves for fodder.
“That area is heavily deforested so this project will assist in mitigating against livestock feed shortages. The type of tree species planted is a fast-growing one, in two to three years’ time, the community will be able to harvest leaves for their goat fodder,” said Mr Bekithemba Ngwenya from the Forestry Commission that provided the trees as well as fencing poles to the community.
Local councillor Cde Veti Tshuma said the project provides a solution to some of the problems villagers had been facing.
“The project answers to many community challenges in terms of development and outreach by Government departments. We are also grateful that even traditional leaders are embracing such crucial community empowerment projects as shown by the hands-on presence of Chief Ndondo. The backbone of the project is the community being assisted by the Anglican Church. The Community is excited by the project,” said Cde Tshuma.
Last month the First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa, in her capacity as the Environment and Tourism ambassador, donated 84 fruit trees to Cameron Primary School in the same area. Dr Mnangagwa said Mbembesi has a lot of shrubs, an indication that there was a need for more trees to be planted so as to improve its vegetation to higher canopy trees. –
