Govt rolls out artificial insemination

GOVERNMENT has started an artificial insemination programme to boost livestock production, a Cabinet minister has said.

Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Develop- ment Minister Professor Amon Murwira recently advised the business community here that Government was working on a number of initiatives to boost the national herd.

He said some of the advantages of adopting modern technologies were that farmers could produce cattle breeds of their own choice.

“Government has already embarked on a project to harvest bulls’ semen for artificial insemination at Chinhoyi University of Technology (CUT),” said Prof Murwira. “We anticipate that the new project will cascade to the rest of the provinces.

“CUT now has the technology to produce over 4 000 straws of bull semen per hour and store it for future artificial insemination purposes.

The advantage of this new technology is that we can produce cattle breeds of our choice which suite different climatic conditions and natural regions.”

Prof Murwira reiterated that the new bull semen harvesting technology would significantly give growth impetus to the entire beef industry.

“We have no doubt as a new Government that the initiative will culminate in high beef production for both domestic and export markets,’’ Prof Murwira said.

He emphasised the need for farmers and other intellects to translate their academic knowledge into meaningful development.