…says it aims to tackle Lowveld drought vulnerability
Emmanuel Chitsika
The Dendairy project meant for Chilonga and Masevamele communal areas is set to tackle the drought vulnerability of the Lowveld area through Lucerne production set to benefit the community that mostly relies on cattle rearing as the high temperatures there cannot sustain other practices of farming like crop cultivation.
Speaking during a media engagement meeting held on February 25 at Flamboyant hotel in Masvingo, the company’s Corporate Communications Officer Lilian Muungani said the project seeks to utilise 12000 hectares of land with 5000 ha specifically meant for the growing of the leguminous crop that is highly nutritious in feeding cattle (pen fattening).
“The area is vulnerable to national disasters emanating from lack of control over pasture production. Beyond that there is a communal to commercial thrust that really looks at ensuring that our communal farmers approach their daily activities with an understanding that they have to do farming as a business. Climate change reality will decimate local herds hence the need for irrigation.
“As an organisation we aim to tackle and or transform the area by handling its proneness to droughts by engaging in green belt pastures to support livestock production. Agriculture is a fundamental to the country’s economic growth and thus the realisation that agriculture cannot take off without controlled pasture production. Eventually the Lowveld will become a regional commercial hub for livestock production and associated value chains,” said Muungani.
She also emphasised on the company’s commitment to erase and allay fears of relocation among the traditional communities by stating that the company intends to do business with a people hence no need to relocate people from their Ancestral/ tribal lands and thus the need to work in partnership with them.
“The other area which is critical to the success of the project is Phase 2 which deals with formation of the Community Representative Forum. There have been so much concerns from the surrounding communities in the area about invasion of the area raising fears about their position once the projects kicks off. As a company we are working on efforts to securitize the interests of our community.
“As investors we want to work with community representative forum that will really be the one to receive the project in the area. We want to avoid a situation where we list around the beneficiaries to deal with the company like on who becomes the out grower as that will open lee ways to people from outside Chilonga. We want the community to take charge of the investment direction by interacting with the company almost on daily basis. Deciding to work with more of a social contract that gives our communities the confidence that this project is not going to decimate or even peripherize them. The organisation would declare the social benefits to the community first,” she said.
Muungani added that their corporate’s vision is further driven by the country’s loss between 2015 and 2021 of around US $60 million of potential revenue due to poor nutrition of close to 150 000 herd and Masvingo as a province which is ranked first in terms of livestock numbers with 1 028 976 cattle, losing 10 183 succumbing to drought in 2020, while in 2019 had 66 088 deaths.
“The reduction in cattle deaths was as a result of government and farmers improving production and provision of subsidized commercial feeds in 17 districts by partners across the country. A lot of decimation occurs when we do not control these pastures.
“Masvingo has a responsibility as a devolved state to look at its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) targets and it matters that we innovatively make use of these existing resources,” she added.
There has been a standoff between the company and local Chilonga and Masevamele communities whose inhabitants are in fear of being evicted to pave way for the Lucerne production project but Dendairy says they do not harbour any intentions to displace people as they want to work with them as out growers of the plant.
The out grower arrangement entails Dendairy providing equipment and farming inputs to farmers on more of contractual basis. Lucerne is highly nutritious in cattle feed production.
