Midlands Province leads the way in Livestock revol...

Midlands Province leads the way in Livestock revolution

Philemon Jambaya

Zim Now Editor

The Second Republic's ambitious Livestock Recovery and Growth Plan is gaining momentum, with a recent initiative in the Midlands province poised to significantly enhance livestock production. The government has launched the widespread adoption of Urea-Treated Stover Can Produce, a crucial development aimed at bolstering the sector's resilience and productivity.

Urea-Treated Stover Can Produce is a nutritionally rich feed mixture, combining molasses, urea, salt, and key crop residues such as barley and maize. This innovative solution is particularly vital during drought periods, ensuring livestock maintain their health and productivity.

The launch in the Midlands province comes as a direct response to the challenges posed by the previous season's El-Nino-induced drought, which threatened livestock across the region. The government is proactively equipping livestock farmers with the knowledge and resources to produce this essential feed. A key aspect of the initiative involves training livestock farmers from across the Midlands on the preparation of Urea-Treated Stover, enabling them to cascade this knowledge to farmers at the grassroots level.

"We are urging our farmers to prepare urea-treated Stover to feed their livestock," stated Mrs. Ezra Svorai, the Midlands Provincial Livestock Specialist. "We are saying with just one sack of urea, you can prepare feed enough to feed your livestock for the whole year. Feeding the livestock with maize stacks is like eating sadza with no relish. However, if we use the urea-treated Stover, this has a CP content of 12%, and it means we are now increasing production. As a government, we have a program to give each farmer a sack of urea, which makes it very cheap to make the feed as opposed to buying from shops."

The Midlands province has set an ambitious target to increase its provincial herd from approximately 900,000 to over a million by the end of the year.

"It is critical for farmers to prepare this feed to deal with drought," emphasized Ms. Busiso Olga Mavankeni, the Midlands Provincial Director for Agricultural and Rural Development Advisory Services (ARDAS). "Last year, we lost some herd due to drought, but this year we are saying we have this feed. We are also having the borehole drilling exercise through the Presidential Borehole Drilling Scheme, and as such, we have enough water, so with feed on the ground, we are set for massive livestock production."