HALF BAKED INTERVENTIONS COSTLY

PUBLISHED BY THE SUNDAY NEWS "LIVESTOCK MARKETS BY MUHLE MASUKU"

11/12/11

I came across a community heifer supply tender from a non governmental organisation (NGO) in one of the weekly papers last week that got me thinking. There is an overwhelming belief in Matebeleland that heifers are the panacea to the current decline in cattle populations in the region. That is oversimplification of the problem. I had nasty experiences in the past that opened my eyes to another dimension of the problem.

                                       

Heifers have been imported into communal areas in the past through various schemes and to the best of my knowledge there has been very little success. Two or three years later those heifers (now mature cows) are offloaded for a pittance through the communal auction market for basically the same reason, infertility. The most notorious of these schemes has been the heifer-oxen exchange, where very large oxen are exchanged for impotent heifers. Don’t you believe that is tantamount to stock theft?

Most cattle breeders are dishonest in that they do not explain to their potential customers that they cull heifers for various reasons such as according to Peet Pienaar of the Inhoek Bonsmaras at Carletonville, RSA: noticeable and visible signs of low fertility (patent defects); retarded genital organs; rise of chine (back bone), course hair; underdeveloped udder; tinny vulva; heavy brisket; an upward pushed tail head; wrong wedge-shape coupled with long front legs and a heavy forequarter; non functional ovaries because of uterine infections and inherent low reproduction.   

The question is who are the recipients of the culled heifers? Heifers are gold in Matebeleland and communal farmers are prepared to part with the best oxen to buy these heifers. It then makes economic sense for commercial farmers to sell at exorbitant prices to communal farmers. NGOs are also helping resource poor members of the community to get heifers at these prices.

I remember at the inauguration of the Department of Livestock Production and Development in 2002, I categorically rejected as preposterous a notion that commercial farmers could sell perfect heifers to communal farmers, especially just after the agrarian reform. I personally witnessed malevolence of the highest order at the abattoirs, as commercial farmers butchered pregnant pure bred cows causing unprecedented levels of fetuses in apparent retribution and the hate speech accompanying the heinous act is unprintable.

Former commercial farmers need to be incorporated into national healing programs; they too are still very sore. Under the circumstances, the probability that we are importing congenital conditions and infectious diseases such as contagious abortion into our communal areas is very high. Our bulls then transfer the diseases from these heifers into our own cows (HIV style). Unless the Department of Veterinary Services is engaged in the screening of these heifers then our herd is set to decline at an alarming rate. Accusations and counter accusations ensue, saying Masuku’s bull is bewitched as it causes our cows to abort.      

According to Gumbo  (2003) latent defects are not apparent to the ordinary person and the buyer may not be aware of them, for example buying diseased cattle (i.e. suffering from anthrax, gall sickness) only to die later. Thus the Implied Warranty against latent defects applies to protect the buyer, breach which can be remedied. Under the aedilition remedies the buyer must prove that the defect is so fundamental as to render the thing unfit for the purpose it was bought for or that the thing would not have been bought if the defect was known. (REED BROTHERS V BORSH 1914 TPD 578 AT 582)

The other thing is that there should be consensus based on sound advice in a communal set up with regards bulls being brought in, due to their uncontrollable nature. Some traders are bringing in exotic breeds that can not withstand the hash communal conditions, while others are bringing in unclassified breeds that may be worse than the local breeds.   

There is so much hype about the CSC cattle finance scheme, I hope the scheme will find improved local conditions lest they empower commercial farmers who will be prepared to offer rubbish at very high prices. We all make mistakes but a fool is one who makes the same mistake twice.

There are respectable institutions like Matopo Research Station, Esigodini Agricultural Institute, CSC ranches etc that can be entrusted with the heifer/bull breeding and supply scheme. Commercial farmers are business people who can shelve their conscience at the sight of money, such national priorities can not be entrusted on individuals. That is what gave birth to Parastatals.

There is no clear government strategy concerning heifer, bull breeding and supply, unless I have missed it, but again it should be public knowledge. It is a fact that communal farmers can not afford pure bred commercial prices, hence the need for government intervention. If farmers continue buying garbage, it’s money down the drain.

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