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QOMINTABA- The severity of the current drought situation has caused the loss of more than 2,300 cattle over the past seven months in the Shiselweni region alone.

This means an average of 320 cattle were dying each month due to shortage of water in this region. 

The exact number of cattle lost is 2 320, according to Dr Bheka Simelane who was narrating the situation to the Prime Minister Themba Dlamini during the second leg of his tour of the drought stricken areas yesterday.

Lost
Lavumisa farmers lost 1 020 cattle while Hluthi farmers lost 1 300 herds of cattle.

"Our cattle have been dying and we suggest that government comes up with a plan for goat rearing because they have shown to be resistant to the drought," said Dr Simelane.

He said that the cattle died despite the fact that over 5 000 bales of hay had been purchased to feed them.

Urged
He urged farmers of the region to properly manage their grazing areas and not to keep many cattle, as they will bear the consequences in the end.

Meanwhile, Senior Agriculturist in the region Wellington Mkhaliphi said that the area had not grown any crops for the past three years and as such had nothing to feed their families.

"Our fields are bare and some saw the recent rains and ploughed but they will not harvest anything. Only 200 hectares were ploughed in December and nothing will be harvested," he said.

Other effects of the prevailing drought:

• At least 217 000 people will harvest nothing.
• Dam levels are very low
• Lesotho, Mozambique and some parts of Zimbabwe also affected.
• Swaziland needs up to 150 000 metric tonnes of maize per year.
• Current drought described as the worst in many years.
• Maize yields so poor that farmers advised to plant beans and sweet potatoes.
• Food aid from World Food
• Programme (WFP) only enough for HIV/AIDS orphans, vulnerable children and the destitute.
• Government urged to formally declare drought crisis.

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