El Nino’s deadly grip: Chipinge farmers count losses

BY ARTWELL CHINGWARA SITHOLE

Pensioner Simango sits beneath a shade, escaping the scorching November heat. His eyes, sunken and weary, seemed to bore into the dry earth as his mind grappled with the desolate landscape before him. His wrinkled hands, worn from years of toil, rested on his chin, a gesture of contemplation.

The weight of his thoughts is palpable, as if the crushing blow of the El Nino-induced drought has left him breathless. The silence is oppressive, punctuated only by the occasional rustle of dry leaves or the distant lowing of a thirsty cow.

Mr Simango’s thoughts are a jumble of worries, regrets, and fear of the future. Would he be able to recover from the loss? The uncertainty hangs over him like a dark cloud, threatening to consume him whole.

During that period, the situation in the Lowveld of Chipinge was dire for Mr Simango and other farmers. With no grass in the fields and mountains, they were unable to afford feed for their livestock, which cost $17 per 50kg bag of survival meal and $23 per bag of pen feeding meal. The heartbreaking decision to watch their cattle perish or sell them off for a fraction of their worth was a harsh reality many faced.

“I had to sell two cows for the price of one to buy maize for my children,” said Mr. Simango, his eyes welling up with tears. “It’s a hard choice, but what can I do? The drought has taken everything from us. Six of my oxen died of hunger.”

A Mr Mukora also lamented the loss of eight of his cows. “I’m now left with two cows out of the ten I had. The drought has left me poorer. I was keeping the cattle hoping to sell some later and build a two-roomed flat.”

The El Niño-induced drought left farmers in the Chipinge Lowveld poorer. Some no longer have a single beast, despite once owning herds.

Ward 21 Councillor Rapheus Semwayo Chikumbu acknowledged the devastating impact of the drought. “The situation was pathetic. Farmers lost their cattle because of the drought. Some families were left with nothing; empty kraals are a testimony to the wealth they used to own.”

He emphasised that the disaster should serve as a wake-up call for farmers to keep a herd that they can afford to buy feed for in case of drought.