Story by Providence Maraneli
Zimbabwe’s quest to increase the national herd has received a major boost after the Republic of Indonesia donated more than 1000 straws of semen of superior breeds to stud breeders for artificial insemination.
The donation, which is a culmination of a training programme of Zimbabwean livestock experts in Indonesia, has been welcomed as a major step in the revival of the sector.
With Zimbabwe’s drive to turnaround the fortunes of the livestock sector having been slowed down by the El Nino-induced drought and cattle diseases, there is consensus among livestock breeders that there should be a robust process to restock through a wide array of interventions, including artificial insemination.
“This donation will go a long way in reviving our sector in the sense that the types of breeds that they brought have the potential to give us a better and resilient breed. We know we lost quite a number of animals to drought and having this will speed up our recovery process.” Mr Obert Chinhamo of Biano Simmentals said.
Livestock experts have welcomed the development as a massive boost for the Livestock Recovery and Growth Plan.
Mazoe Bull Centre and Semen Processing Laboratory, veterinary research officer Dr Biko Gadaga said, “Besides beef straws, they have donated a consignment of 200 holstein dairy breeds and we have identified farmers who should benefit from these superior genetics. Our aim as a country is to be food secure and the coming in of these new genetics will certainly benefit us.”
“We need to expand our genetic pool because for you to do better or proper selections in terms of genetic evaluation, you need a wider scope of genetic pool. We know we have lost big herds because of drought and diseases so we need to take advantage of any element that can complement the building of the national herd,” Matopos Research Institute’s chief research officer Mr Givious Sisito added.
The donation is testimony to the excellent bilateral relations between Zimbabwe and Indonesia, with the Asian country pledging its support for Zimbabwean’s agriculture sector growth.
“This consignment comes after officers from the Ministry of Agriculture went to Indonesia for training and now they are back and we have decided to support their livestock restocking programme. We are committed to the recovery of the livestock sector. We are going to help in the establishment of a semen laboratory and train a lot of officers so that they cascade down the programme for the benefit of Zimbabwe,” Ambassador of the Indonesia to Zimbabwe and Zambia His Excellency Dewa Made Sastrawan said.
The semen consignment comprises, 1000 straws of Brahman, Red Angus, Simmental and Limousin breeds and an additional 200 straws of superior Holstein dairy breed.
