FMD shatters farmers' dreams in Matsiloje

RYDER GABATHUSE
Staff Writer | Friday April 13, 2012 00:00

Farmers, herdsmen, the business community and just about every resident of the village are mourning the killing of cattle in the area in order to clear FMD. Livestock has always played a vital role in the rural economy of Matsiloje where there are few industries to support the fragile economic life prevalent in the area.

In the neighboring area, there are three mines of Tati Nickel Mining Company, Galane Gold and Matsiloje Portland Cement  - which have created a limited number of jobs and support few other economic opportunities for the predominantly Barolong tribe. Other tribes in the area include Bakalaka, and the Ndebele among others.

Matsiloje village is located close to the Botswana-Zimbabwe border where the Ramokgwebana River divides the two countries and relatives. Many Matsiloje farmers hire herdsmen from Zimbabwe.

Veterinary Zone Six, in which Matsiloje falls, has had to grapple with two outbreaks of FMD, resulting in 21,000 cattle killed last year to stop the spread of FMD to the rest of the country adding to the 16,000 cattle killed after the 2002-2003 outbreak.

Illegal trafficking of animal products across the two countries' borders has been blamed for the spread of the FMD virus into Botswana by the Ministry of Agriculture. In Zimbabwe, FMD control measures are allegedly weak, leading to the recurring spread of the disease in the border area.

Up to March this year, the Botswana government has spent P94 million to combat FMD in Veterinary Zones Six and Seven. About 46,000 cattle were reportedly affected by FMD and of this number,  23,000 were killed whilst an equal number was sold to Zimbabwe for P50 million.

Last week Tuesday, the road leading to Matsiloje was unusually quiet. The cows that are usually a menace on the road were conspicuously absent because the government took a decision to kill and or sell all the cattle in the FMD affected area east of the A-1 highway from Sese cordon fence to Vakaranga village near Ramokgwebana. Except for grazing sheep, goats and donkeys, Matsiloje has no cattle straying into the main highway .

In Matsiloje, FMD has become synonymous with pain, hatred, loss and enmity according to Solomon Mahupela, a bricklayer who for many years has raised his children through the proceeds of his vocation.

Until last year, he kept about four cows at Raikop-1 cattlepost, which were killed by the authorities to control the FMD. The 54-year-old man's life is now complicated by the fact that villagers are not keen to build houses due to low disposable income.

'If you walk around the village you will notice that some of the houses have only gone half-way through construction whilst others are still at foundation level,' he said. Mahupela, the father to traditional musician Captain Dira, said his situation is further compounded by the reality that in the current ploughing season, he expects to reap nothing from his lands due to poor rains.

'It's so bad because there are no jobs here and we have failed to plough due to poor rains. What are we really going to eat?' he wondered. Mahupela also sells Chibuku beer to raise money for the family.'I was raised by a family that tilled the land and reared cattle. I had hoped that rearing cattle and ploughing will complement my bricklaying work to feed my family,' he said.

His last job in Matsiloje was to maintain Matsiloje Primary School, which he said did not pay him much as he was paid at a meagre drought relief rate. According to him, the absence of cattle becomes even more pronounced during funerals, weddings and other ceremonies.

'Our people shun donkey meat and this could have been an opportunity for them to learn to eat it but they are just not keen,' he said. William Mojanaga (49), who has just bought a pint of Chibuku from Mahupela's place said he has always dreamed of raising cattle to feed his family of five children. Now FMD has shattered this dreams, he said.

As if he demanded answers from the Mmegi team, he asked: 'What am I going to do to continue feeding my family?' When other farmers were compensated for the loss of their cattle at the rate of P1 700 per cow, he chose to wait for the government to give him his eight cattle in the impending restocking exercise.