CommuTalk Reporter
GWERU: Government of Zimbabwe’s Livestock Recovery and Growth Plan is on course with government launching the Urea treated Stover Can produce in the Midlands province, a move set to ramp up livestock production.
The urea treated Stover can produce is a mixture of molasses, urea, salt, and major sources of crop residue like barley and maize among others which has nutritional value and is fed to livestock in times of drought.
Midlands Provincial Livestock Specialist Ezra Svorai said the El-Nino induced drought which threatened livestock lives in the previous season has prompted government to bring together livestock heads from across the Midlands province to get proper induction on how to make the nutritional feed for them cascade the experience to the grassroots.
“We are urging our farmers to prepare urea treated Stover to feed their livestock. 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 percent and it means we are now increasing production and as government we have a programme to give each farmer a sack of urea which makes it very cheap to make the feed as opposed to buying from shops,” she said.
The Midlands province is targeting to improve its provincial herd of cattle from the current region of around 900 thousand to over a million by the end of the year through the project.
Added Midlands Provincial Director-Agricultural and Rural Development Advisory Services (ARDAS) Busiso Olga Mavankeni, “It is critical for farmers to prepare this feed to deal with drought. 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 drinking scheme and as such we have enough water so with feed on the ground we are set for massive livestock production.”
The Livestock Recovery Growth Plan was launched in 2022 with the aim of transforming farmers’ livelihoods and improve the country’s economy.
