In the community

Zimbabwe: Rains finally come, and so do the rodents

Published

4 years ago

January 25, 2022

VicFallsLive

BY LINDA MUJURU

Remeredzai Mashakwari reaches into a bucket and pulls out a small, dark-gray rodent.

With a sharp stick, she opens the tiny animal’s stomach, and guts it.

When she’s done with the remaining 400 rodents, she boils them and removes their fur.

Not far from Mashakwari, other women and children process more than 1,500 rodents.

Then she starts frying.

The pleasant aroma of sizzling, seasoned meat replaces that of raw blood and guts.

Known as “mbeva” in the Shona language, the small rodent, which resembles a mouse, is a delicacy, says Florence Chijumana, one of the women.

“It tastes better than any meat.”

That is especially true when grain harvests are plentiful, and people hunt mbeva for leisure, she says.

Now, farmers are hunting it for survival.

Zimbabwe had higher than average rainfall last season, which led to population outbreaks of rodents that have decimated crops, creating severe food shortages.

The crisis comes after years of drought depleted food stocks, according to a report released in August by the Famine Early Warning Systems Network, a United States Agency for International Development research group.

On top of this, lockdowns and closures of international borders during the coronavirus pandemic have hindered the transportation of food.

Drought in southeast Zimbabwe, where the village of Chisumbanje is located, lasted from late 2018 to early 2020, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Centre.

Rainfall spiked dramatically in mid-2021, reaching a 10-year record high in October.

The rains are what drew the rodents, which can cause total devastation to food crops, says Shingirayi Nyamutukwa, who heads the Plant Protection Research Institute, an arm of the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement.

Nyamutukwa says rodent outbreaks are common in agriculture, attacking a variety of crops in all stages of food production and storage.

There are nearly 400 species of rodents in Africa, but only 5% are crop pests, according to a 2017 study in Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing, a British agricultural science journal.

Two species — the multimammate rat and the grass rat — are most responsible for population outbreaks in sub-Saharan Africa. Although they are small in size, they cause so much damage because they are prolific breeders.

The young reach sexual maturity after 90 days, and females can conceive again as early as 24 hours after giving birth.

Globally, annual crop losses to rodents can range from 10 percent to 15 percent, according to a 2020 study published in Oecologia, a German journal of plant and animal ecology.

Consequences of rodent outbreaks are often less drastic in wealthy countries because they have significant food reserves.

Governments of those countries also often help farmers fight threats to food production.

In Australia, where a recent rodent outbreak devastated crops, the state government of New South Wales set aside 50 million Australian dollars to help farmers battle the plague.

In countries like Zimbabwe, whose governments neither help control rodents nor compensate farmers for crop losses, outbreaks can have serious impacts on food and economic security.

“If rodents are not controlled properly, they can cause 100% crop loss, not only in the fields, but also in storage,” says Nyamutukwa of the Plant Protection Research Institute

The food crisis has left farmers like Chijumana and Mashakwari with no alternative but to hunt rodents.

“In the past years, I would harvest three full scotch carts of maize,” Chijumana says.

“This year, I got nothing because of rodents, so we decided to capture them for food and cash.”

Mashakwari says she and other farmers go out to ravaged maize fields and stay for up to three nights at a time, setting traps with buckets of water to drown the rodents.

They return home with hundreds of them, which can fetch around US$50.

They feed some to their families and sell the rest.

For a season spanning November to April, Mashakwari says she leased a hectare of farmland for US$67.

Without rodents, she would have harvested five tonnes of maize and earned about US$1,500.

“This is all we have for now,” she says, pointing at a frying pan of sizzling creatures.

“It’s better than no food at all. But when there are none left to catch, we’ll have to find something else to survive on.”- Global Press Journal

In the community

Free dental outreach treats over 700 in Victoria Falls

Published

2 days ago

March 17, 2026

VicFallsLive

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

More than 700 residents in Victoria Falls have received free dental care following a three-day outreach programme held at Mkhosana Clinic.

The initiative, led by global charity SmileStar in partnership with CIMAS, saw 705 patients treated between 9 and 11 March. The programme builds on previous outreach efforts in the region and is expanding this year to include Matobo.

A team of 16 volunteer dental professionals—many from Dentex—provided urgent treatment, pain relief, and oral health education, while also sharing skills with local healthcare workers.

Team leader Dr Mitesh Badiani said tooth decay linked to high sugar consumption, particularly among children, was the most common issue encountered.

“Many of these dental problems are preventable, and education plays a key role in helping to avoid such problems in the future,” he said.

The outreach received support from Africa Albida Tourism, with the team hosted at Victoria Falls Safari Lodge.

Africa Albida Tourism managing director Nigel Frost said the initiative would have lasting benefits for the community.

“This initiative provides vital dental care and education that will continue to benefit the residents of Victoria Falls long after the clinics have ended,” he said.

Mark Cockburn added that the programme highlighted the impact of volunteerism in addressing healthcare gaps.

Following the Victoria Falls outreach, SmileStar continued its programme in Hwange, before moving to Matobo today and tomorrow at Ethandweni Children’s Home, with a target of treating more than 1 000 patients across the three regions.

In the community

Kamativi mine to relocate 65 graves to pave way for operations

Published

2 days ago

March 17, 2026

VicFallsLive

BY STAFF REPORTER

Sixty-five human remains are set to be exhumed from the Kamativi Mining Company premises in Matabeleland North as the firm moves to clear a section of land earmarked for ongoing mining operations.

The development follows a formal notice issued by Kamativi Mining Company in compliance with the Cemeteries Act, which governs the handling and relocation of human remains.

“Notice is hereby issued by Kamativi Mining Company in compliance with the Cemeteries Act, Chapter 5:04, regarding the relocation and reburial of 65 graves situated within the dry tailings operational area at Kamativi Mine, located in the Hwange District of Matabeleland North Province,” the notice read.

According to the company, the relocation is necessary to ensure that mining activities within the affected zone can proceed safely and sustainably.

The graves are located within the mine’s dry tailings operational area, a key section linked to current and planned extraction processes.

While the notice outlines compliance with legal requirements, the move is likely to raise sensitivities among local communities, given the cultural and emotional significance attached to burial sites.

Kamativi Mining Company has urged stakeholders and individuals with concerns or inquiries to engage directly with the company for further clarification on the exhumation and reburial process.

No timeline for the relocation has been publicly disclosed.

Additional reporting source: Byo24 News

In the community

Hwange West MP demands urgent action after two killed by elephants in Victoria Falls

Published

3 weeks ago

February 26, 2026

VicFallsLive

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

VICTORIA FALLS – Hwange West legislator Vusumuzi Moyo has called for urgent and decisive intervention to address escalating human-elephant conflict after two people were killed by elephants in Victoria Falls within the space of a week.

Rising on a point of national interest in the National Assembly, Moyo said the recent deaths had left families in mourning and exposed the growing danger faced by communities living near wildlife corridors.

“In closing, Mr Speaker Sir, I want to convey my message to two families within Victoria Falls. This happened within a week. They lost their lives because of this conflict,” Moyo said. “In a space of a week, two families are mourning the loss of their loved ones.”

Victoria Falls and surrounding communities, which border wildlife areas, have in recent years experienced increased incidents of elephants straying into residential areas, destroying crops and infrastructure, and in some cases fatally attacking residents.

Moyo told Parliament that the crisis must no longer be viewed solely as a conservation issue but as a matter of human dignity and national development.

“My issue is not merely about wildlife management. It is about national development, constitutional responsibility and ultimately, protecting human dignity,” he said.

He warned that communities from Kariba to Binga, and in tourism corridors around Victoria Falls, are “under siege” from escalating human-elephant conflict.

“Families are losing crops, infrastructure is being destroyed and tragically, lives continue to be lost. This House cannot ignore the cries of rural citizens who coexist with wildlife every day,” Moyo said.

The Hwange West MP defended previous government decisions to cull elephants in high-conflict zones, arguing that such measures were sometimes necessary to restore ecological balance and protect human life.

“These are not acts of recklessness but acts of necessity because conservation must never come at the expense of human survival,” he said.

While acknowledging the importance of non-lethal measures such as fencing and translocation, Moyo said in some areas those interventions were no longer sufficient on their own.

He urged authorities to urgently implement provisions of the Parks and Wildlife Act, promulgated on 28 November 2025, particularly in communities bordering national parks.

“It is my sincere hope that the implementation of the Parks and Wildlife Act… will be taken to the areas that border within national parks so that people appreciate and that the regulations can be done as fast as possible,” he said.

Moyo stressed that Parliament must strike a balance between conservation and protecting human life.

“The people are not asking Parliament to choose between elephants and human beings. They are asking us to restore the balance,” he said.

The latest fatalities have renewed debate in Victoria Falls over how authorities can better safeguard residents while maintaining Zimbabwe’s strong conservation reputation.