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Big bucks: Drought-hit Binga villagers cut poverty, poaching with larger goats

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BY BUSANI BAFANA

With worsening droughts in western Zimbabwe making it difficult to grow enough food, the farmers of the Tonga community have been relying on hunting impala, guinea fowl and other wild animals to eat and sell for income.

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The farmers in Binga district know their traditional practice of “hunting for the pot” is decimating local protected wildlife and puts them at risk of being arrested for poaching, but they say they have little choice: hunt or go hungry.

“This year the rain was not good, crops did not survive in the heat, and we know food will be scarce,” said Levia Mugande from Chivwetu village.

But now she and dozens of other farmers are looking at a new way to get protein on their plates and money in their pockets: a larger breed of goat that fetches a higher price at market.

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Last year, Mugande got her first Boer goat buck from the European Union-funded Sustainable Wildlife Management   (SWM) Programme, through her farmers’ cooperative.

The plan, she said, is to breed the buck with indigenous female goats – or does – on her farm to produce bigger offspring with higher-quality meat, which can supplement what she makes from selling chickens and rosella, the fruit of the hibiscus plant, in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s second-largest city.

“I have indigenous goats that I sell twice a year to buy food and pay school fees and other needs at home,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation at a community meeting near her home

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“But I am looking forward to earning more money from my goats,” she added, saying her native goats usually sell for up to $20 each depending on their size.

Their larger offspring, who could grow to weigh up to 150 kilogrammes, should fetch four times as much.

The goats are part of a balancing act playing out around the world as drought-hit communities with failing crops try to make sure everyone has enough to eat without wiping out the local wildlife that is essential to a healthy ecosystem.

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At the same time, the degradation of habitats due to rising temperatures is driving more wildlife onto human settlements in search of food and water, leading farmers to kill the animals.

“There are complications in balancing food availability and conservation of wildlife … which poses a threat to the crops and livestock on which (people) depend,” said Maxwell Phiri, technical assistant for the SWM project in Zimbabwe.

Launched in 2018, it has given 30 farmers in Binga one buck each of the fast-growing Boer and Kalahari goat species to breed with their indigenous females.

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So far, the does who bred with the first batch of bucks have all given birth to at least two kids, Phiri said.

Farmers get the bucks for free and the monthly cost of keeping each animal is about $10 for feed and medicine.

Less poaching

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The farming sector employs more than 60% of Zimbabwe’s population, according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization.

Binga, near the border with Zambia, has a history of insecure food supplies and incomes, in part due to waves of drought, high temperatures and erratic rainfall.

According to government data, Binga is one of Zimbabwe’s least-developed districts, ranking as the third poorest in Matabeleland North Province with a poverty rate of 88%, far above the national rural average of nearly 70 percent.

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Now, with more lucrative goat breeds that could potentially bring in higher incomes for years to come, some farmers in the district have stopped relying on wildlife for their meat, said Tawanda Gonye, the district’s veterinary extension supervisor.

“The community is moving away from wildlife corridors and there is a decline in cases of farmers being arrested for poaching,” Gonye said.

Members of Natural Resource Monitors, a group of young community conservationists who act as environmental police, say they have recovered ten times fewer snares on their patrols since the project started.

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“We think people realise the need to preserve wildlife, even when there is not enough food,” said Mathias Mugande, one of the monitors working in Binga’s Ward Five.

SWM programme coordinator Patrice Grimaud said the project stumbled early on, as farmers adjusted to raising the new goats, which originate in South Africa, based on training from the Department of Veterinary Services.

“Six out of the (first batch) of goats died, mainly due to a combination of eating poisonous plants they were not familiar with, pests, diseases … and poor nutrition,” he said.

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Grimaud cautioned that it was too early to attribute the decline of poaching in the area solely to the goat swap.

He pointed to other strategies the SWM has introduced, such as providing farmers with portable livestock enclosures so they do not feel the need to kill wild animals to protect their goats.

The project is also encouraging farmers to look at alternative protein sources such as honey, mopane worms and tamarind, he said.

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Climate adaptation

Annette Hubschle, a research fellow and expert on illegal wildlife economies at the University of Cape Town, said trying new foods was only a small step toward stopping people from hunting to ease hunger linked to climate change.

Conservation projects should also encourage communities to adapt their farming to the changing climate so they do not abandon agriculture entirely, she added.

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“You cannot just bring in cattle or livestock – you have to provide the means of production,” said Hubschle.

“In the case of cattle farming, it would be kraals (enclosures), sheds and water points, while a crop farmer needs different things – access to water, equipment to soften the soil, seeds and compost.”

Mpendulo Mwiinde, a farmer from Binga’s Ward Four, said he and his peers have found it hard to give up hunting when they have so little food but are starting to understand why they should poach fewer animals.

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“Wildlife is important as a future resource, even though some of the animals have destroyed our crops and threatened our livestock,” he added. – Thompson Reuters Foundation

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In the community

Painted Dog Conservation and Uncommon bring free coding school to Gwai Valley Primary

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BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI 

Painted Dog Conservation (PDC), in partnership with technology-driven organisation Uncommon, is set to establish a free coding school at Gwai Valley Primary in Lupane District, marking a new chapter in community empowerment and education.

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Speaking during an interview with VicFallsLive, PDC operations director, David Kuvawoga said the initiative stems from the organisation’s long-term work with local schools through its children’s bush camps.

“In our quest to find solutions to the poaching crisis, and building on the work we’ve done with schools over the years, we identified Gwai Primary as a good location to start a coding school,” he explained. “We partnered with Uncommon, which already runs facilities in Harare and Victoria Falls, to bring this opportunity closer to rural communities.”

The school will be housed in container units equipped with computers and other necessary technology. According to PDC, the project will be led by youths from the Gwai community who underwent year-long training in Victoria Falls and are now prepared to teach children — and adults — the fundamentals of coding.

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“This is not just for schoolchildren,” the operations director said. “Anyone in the community with the passion to learn can join. What matters is the interest and commitment, not formal qualifications.”

Importantly, the programme will be free of charge. Both organisations confirmed that tuition, equipment, and running costs are fully covered through fundraising efforts.

“No one is going to pay a cent,” he said. “Just like our bush camps, which host over a thousand children every year without charge, this coding school is fully funded. All the community needs to do is embrace it.”

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PDC has previously supported communities through projects such as boreholes and gardens, but this marks its first major investment in technology. The director said the initiative has the potential to address unemployment, improve education, and give local youth world-class digital skills.

“Coding is a highly sought-after skill across the world,” he noted. “If young people here can learn it, they can secure jobs or even create employment for others. This is a brick in the foundation of uplifting Lupane, Hwange, and beyond.”

The coding school is expected to open in December at Gwai Valley Primary.

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Lupane police officer sentenced for tampering with mbanje evidence

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BY WANDILE TSHUMA 

A 21-year-old constabulary officer in Lupane has been convicted after admitting he tampered with evidence in a drug possession case, effectively helping a suspect conceal part of the stash.

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The officer, Nqobile Mutale, was on duty at Lupane Terminus Base on the 18th of September when he arrested Thulani Sibanda, who had been implicated in unlawful possession of dagga/imbanje. Instead of handing over the full exhibit, Mutale struck a deal with Sibanda and hid part of the recovered drugs behind the police base.

Detectives later uncovered the hidden dagga, with Mutale leading them to the site during investigations.

Standing before the Lupane Magistrates’ Court, Mutale pleaded guilty to obstructing the course of justice. He was handed a 24-month sentence, with nine months suspended. The balance of 15 months was also suspended, provided he completes 525 hours of community service.

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Avoid nightime movement and stoning elephants, communities told

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BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI 

Following a recent spate of human-wildlife conflict incidents, Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority spokesperson Tinashe Farawo has urged communities to exercise caution when encountering wild animals.

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Farawo emphasized the importance of avoiding confrontations with elephants, particularly when they encroach into community areas. “We would like to urge members of the communities to avoid throwing stones at elephants,” he said. “This action agitates them, leading to attacks on people.”

In addition to avoiding confrontations, Farawo advised community members to minimize movement at night, as this is when wild animals are most active. “We would like to urge communities to avoid moving at night to minimize casualties,” he said.

Farawo’s comments come after a 79-year-old man from Hwange was killed by an elephant yesterday. The incident is still under investigation by rangers. This is the second fatal incident in the area, following the death of another man who was attacked by an elephant while on his way to work in Hwange town several weeks ago.

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