Zimbabwe's Productive Asset Creation: Cattle bath!
Productive Asset Creation (PAC) projects aim at promoting asset creation to increase resilience to food security shocks and improve access of food for non-labour constrained food insecure households. Communities in Matabeleland South, Matabeleland North and Mashonaland province in Zimbabwe have been working on the PAC project for multiple cycles with the support from World Vision, World Food Programme (WFP), USAID, and the Government of Zimbabwe ministries.
In Nkwizhu village located in Tsholotsho District, some 70% of the land is covered with Kalahari sands, making it suitable for cattle rearing. In this environment, livestock plays an important role in food security, providing food rich in protein, essential vitamins and minerals. Meat, eggs and milk are not seasonal and can be produced year round, generating a regular food source and income. In addition, manure helps increase soil fertility. “Cattle is the major livelihood for us; we get milk and meat that we consume or sell for other types of food,” a community membernoted. So, rehabilitating a dip-tank was a priority for the communities.
A dip tank is a concretelined structure deep enough for large cattle to walk in, plunge, and walk out, so as to remove parasites from their skin and be protected from infection.
Project participants were selected based on household’s vulnerability status and received 50kgs of cereals, 3kgs of cooking oil and 9 to 10kgs of beans after working 60 hours per month in rehabilitating or creating community-selected assets. Participants took ownership of the assets to come and reupholster the poles, build the roofs and improve the structure. The participants also worked to organise a committee to oversee the construction and maintenance of the dip tanks and to liaise with the government veterinary services to obtain dipping chemicals.
According to the Tsholotsho District Officer, World Vision and Plan worked with the communities to rehabilitate 11 dip tanks out of 56 in the district, significantly reducing cattle diseases in the area.
(Visited in March 2014)