WINTER is behind us and the heat is on!
A herd of scrawny MaShona cattle wallow under a munhondo tree. The veld is a desolate khaki colour.
The scorched savannah screams for rain.
What used to be water bodies are gullies of cracked earth; mean little patches of mud, deeply cracked.
The last puddles of putrid water, no longer clear enough to reflect the cattles’ image, lies at the bottom of the waterhole.
Thorny weeds choke the cattles’ last rangeland fodder for the season. What does the rural livestock farmer have to do to mitigate natural vagaries and keep his cattle healthy in the dry hot season?
The distant slow sound of the cattle bells, barely audible, tell you that your cattle are lethargic.
Some of the herd foam at the mouth from the heat (Kubuda furo nekupiswa).
Scrounging for the last of the sparse vegetation, emaciated cattle graze in the ravine, where the grass is softer.
Across the tarmac, a vast mirage gleams like a lake of molten steel across the horizon.
A parched rainbird cries in vain to the vast blue.
Desperately, the doves babble and, in the trees yonder, the lowery barks a dry call in the heat of the wilderness. Last year’s brown frogs croak a dry staccato which holds promise, but still, no rain.
At this time of the year, the sight of emaciated, ribbed cattle grazing in the ravine, scrounging the last sprigs of the sparse vegetation is not uncommon.
In these decades of climate change and global warming, cattle are also prone to the heatwave.
In today’s new age farming practices, preventative measures can be taken before your cattle become so desperate.
With weather forecasts handy at the click of a computer button, a livestock farmer can prepare his livestock for each new season.
In the dry season, which constitutes 180 days of the year, from May to September, our veld is vulnerable to veld fires, and so are our cattle.
Travelling recently to conduct cattle research in a certain dry part of Mashonaland West, I encountered a veld fire.
Blazing dangerously close to the main tarred road, the unmanned and volatile fire raged on.
Across the road, to the right of me, were a herd of cattle, vulnerable, alarmed and confused.
The sight of them terrified me.
I was reminded of a lesson imparted to me by my grandfather, Chikambi-Zvimba, a traditional yeoman of note, about cattle and the traditional management of veld fires. He said: “The grass, earth, trees, rocks, caves and birds – our ecological environment — were sacred. They are a gift to us from benevolent Mwari – nevadzimu. What man does not treasure such a bountiful gift?”
Being very young and impressionable, I enjoyed his stories and the glint in his eyes made them sound so virtual.
What I did not realise then was that they were lessons in veld management, cattle husbandry, heritage studies and traditional botany, all rolled out in a few sentences.
Today, as a modern day agro-researcher, while I am not so well-healed in traditional veld-craft, I use some of his traditional wisdom to guide my studies.
Given every good farmer harbours a latent anxiety about the rain season or the devastating effects of veld fires, I assessed various weather predictions for the 2018-2019 season and used the data to arrive at an average reading.
This information gives us an idea about when the veld would be most vulnerable to fires and when the scant water bodies will run out, as well as an estimate of the rains likely to fall.
This season, the grass is exceptionally dry in late August.
Rangeland indigenous cattle are particularly vulnerable and the rain patterns in the last five years have been erratic and unpredictable (2014-2018).
In the 2018-2019 rain season Zimbabwe’s average temperatures will soar, with highs of 35-36o expected by October 10.
Some predictions show precipitation and, maybe, some thunderstorms will occur towards October 27 to 29.
Dam levels and water reservoirs which have begun to recede, will further recede, and the rains might be late.
What do the rural cattle farmers have to do to counter the effects of natural phenomena in order to safeguard the health of their cattle?
My grandfather, like many traditional rural farmers, practiced prognostic planning and compound agro-ecological visualisation in order to maintain and develop the agro-ecology and pastures to sustain his cattle.
There were no half measures and no EMA to guide them on how to protect, preserve and sustain the cattle rangeland, forests and veld.
The forests were managed custodially by the chief and his deputation while both cattle and humans were safe from veld fires – there was no room for ham-handedness or procrastination.
Indigenous Shona people understood the benefits and hazards of fire. Environmental management was conducted under the strict jurisdiction of the chief, community elders, envoys and soldiers — machinda amambo. Each community should revive this traditional practice and have a fire-fighting team at hand to fight fires.
Livestock and land, being the main source of sustenance, nutrition and health, were guarded jealously; particularly at this time of the year when the environment is most vulnerable to veld fires.
In this time of history in our country, where the new dispensation is initiating rapid development in communal small-scale farming in rural areas, it is important that agriculture and environmental management are introduced and disseminated to the community via the schools’ education system.
Cognisant that our natural resources, forests and water bodies are a finite resource, if not manager properly, it is imperative that agriculture, animal husbandry, traditional laws and heritage practices be integrated as a body of study and made accessible, especially to communal small-scale farmers who constitute the majority of the farming community in Zimbabwe.
Our ecosystems have become ever so fragile due to human mismanagement.
The practice of sustainable land utilisation and the preservation of the environment, particularly natural water bodies which provide the cattle with water, should not be polluted by the soot and carbon that emanates from haphazard fire-starters.
In the past, indigenous custodians maintained the natural water bodies by planting trees around them.
This practice prevented the water from evaporating, kept the area cool, providing a shade to rest and ruminate under.
Most of the tree species were fire resistant and chosen for their fire-retardant qualities.
In Zimbabwe, where the dry winter savannah and dried grass and twigs are combustible, the forests must be treated conscientiously and perceptively.
Veld fires endanger livestock, property and human life.
Prevent fires!
Dr Tony Monda holds a PhD. in Art Theory and Philosophy and a DBA (Doctorate in Business Administration) and Post-Colonial Heritage Studies. He is a writer, lecturer, musician, art critic, practicing artist and corporate image consultant. He is also a specialist art consultant, post-colonial scholar, Zimbabwean socio-economic analyst and researcher. E-mail: tonym.MONDA@gmail.com