Story by Lisa Masuku-Kurira
GOVERNMENT and environmental experts are intensifying efforts to promote sustainable rangeland management amid growing concern over overgrazing, soil erosion and declining productivity in Zimbabwe’s livestock-producing regions.
With communal farmers contributing nearly 60 percent of the national livestock herd, authorities say protecting grazing land has become critical to safeguarding food security, strengthening rural livelihoods and sustaining agricultural productivity.
Experts note that Zimbabwe’s drier southern regions rely heavily on rangelands for livestock production, with reseeding programmes and improved grass varieties increasingly being promoted as practical solutions to restore degraded grazing land.
Zimbabwe International Livestock Research Institute Country Representative, Professor Sikhalazo Dube, stressed the importance of protecting grazing ecosystems through environmentally suitable reseeding methods.
“It is important to protect our rangelands. You want to ensure you are using the right material for reseeding, bringing in vegetation that is good for the environment.”
The National University of Science and Technology (NUST) says research is already underway to identify vegetation best suited to different ecological regions.
“As NUST, we are already helping farmers preserve their rangelands by conducting research to find the type of vegetation that works best for their regions,” NUST Acting Dean, Faculty of Agriculture Science and Technology Professor Allan Sebata said.
Since experts are also using cattle to safeguard rangelands, the Nguni breed has been chosen for its adaptability.
“Cattle were once seen as the major contributor to grazing land degradation. But what we’re doing now is using livestock to regenerate that land. We are using the Nguni breed because of its adaptability,” E-Livestock Chairperson Mr Max Makuvise said.
The government says the country’s vast drylands, which are ideal for livestock production, must be protected for future generations.
“The vast drylands that the country is endowed with should be protected so that future generations also benefit from them,” Agriculture , Mechanisation and Water Resources Development Deputy Minister Honourable Davis Marapira said.
With communal farmers contributing 60 percent of the national livestock herd, experts say protecting rangelands is not just an environmental issue; it is a national food security and economic priority.
