Bulawayo show grounds: A time to smoke the peace pipe!
ONE interesting incident which kept the livestock social platforms busy for a day or two, was the escalation of the fight to reopen the Bulawayo Agricultural Show grounds.
The grounds have then closed for use especially for livestock auctions, for five or so years.
The fight spilled into the country’s courts as one renowned stud breeder wanted to use the showgrounds premises for his annual sale.
This time he had more than 200 beasts on offer and his own premises could not hold such a huge number of animals for a sale.
The Government won the case against the farmer and the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) showgrounds remain closed for livestock farmers.
I do not have all the legal facts but it suffices to say there was a court challenge lodged to compel the Government through its Department of Veterinary Services to reopen the trade fair showgrounds for livestock sales, more specifically for the said farmer’s annual sale.
It is also accurate to point out that the court challenge notwithstanding the outcome, has reignited fury among most of the livestock farmers in the Matabeleland region who have always felt hard done by the decision to shut down the showgrounds.
Accusations have been thrown especially towards the Department of Veterinary Services which is responsible for disease control under which the decision to close the showgrounds was made.
The trade fair showgrounds had become a serious driver for Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), because of its huge catchment which meant that animals from all corners of Matabeleland region and neighbouring provinces converged on the centre for sale with obvious spread of infection from one area to another.
However, the fury with which a negative court outcome for the farmer was received in the livestock corridors of Matabeleland region, tells a story of a sector that is reeling in economic pain as a result of the ban on use of the showgrounds. It tells of a people whose main source of livelihood has been constrained by the decision.
On the other hand, it will be amiss if this pen does not bring to the glare of the public that no major outbreak of FMD has been recorded in the region ever since the ban on showgrounds was effected. This compels one to draw an obvious nexus between the closure of the showgrounds and the containment of the spread of FMD.
Having said that, I think it is in good keeping to point out there is a need to find a balance between serving the economic interests of the livestock industry and preventing the spread of diseases of economic importance such as FMD.
It will be fool hardy to kill the same industry that the Department of Veterinary Services is trying to protect by preventing the spread of the disease. It is a well-documented fact that the Bulawayo trade fair grounds provided the highest beef producer prices to the farmers, hence the flocking of animals to the venue from all corners of the region.
Disease control has to be balanced with economic interests which is why countries all over the world are relaxing measures instituted against the Covid-19 pandemic.
The country needs to breathe regardless of the circumstances around the pandemic, by the same token the livestock industry in Matabeleland region needs to breathe hence at some point the FMD control noose around farmers’ neck needs to be loosened albeit with caution.
I submit that it is in the interest of both the Department of Veterinary Services and farmers to find a common ground on the matter concerning the showgrounds. There is no need to choke the other to death just to adhere to regulations without contextualising the environment.
If there is some room or latitude that can be created or granted to farmers to breathe without jeopardising the disease control efforts, why can’t that be granted to farmers, even on trial basis. It should not escape our mind that the spread of FMD and other diseases while driven by farmers, the Department of Veterinary Services was also complicit by its failure to police the movement of animals. No excuses.
I therefore call on the Government and farmers to come to the table and find a winwin arrangement for the concerned parties. It should never be a matter of demonstrating who has a better muscle than the other but protecting the interests of this beautiful industry.
Uyabonga umntakaMaKhumalo.