The Heifer Scheme, launched in 2012 in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture (Livestock Department) has benefitted 15 women in Gombakomba Village. Each of the women farmers, who are selected according to precise criteria, receives training in livestock management, before being given a cow in gestation. Some of the disadvantaged women selected to participate in the scheme are widows and single mothers.
“Impoverished women are selected for participation in the project, provided they are able to supply forage for their cow,” said Joel Gwaze, the project coordinator. He explained how the scheme works, “The first female calf born has to be passed on to another selected farmer as a way of repaying the gift. Subsequent calves born belong to the owner of the original heifer. This system has a multiplying effect. A couple of years after giving one cow to one beneficiary, we have many more beneficiaries.”
He said the farmers do not pass on the calf until it is about 10 months old. The original beneficiary has to rear the animal according to the nutrition, health and hygiene practices taught to the participants when selected for the programme. Male calves, he said, are usually sold for meat, thereby providing income to the farmers. So far the total number of cows has expanded to 178 through the pass-on-a-cow scheme.
“We have seen this project changing the lives of the poor rural women,” Gwaze maintained. He said that the majority of the cows were Holstein Friesland, which are superior in terms of milk production when compared with the traditional Mashona breed.
10 litres a day
Jasmine Ndamuka (42), a widow with three children, is one of the small farmers from Gombakomba Village who is benefitting from the project. She received her first cow in 2012. She said her cow produces about 10 litres of milk per day, depending on whether it is the dry or rainy season.
“Forage is limited during the dry season so the cows produce less milk. I and my children consume two litres of milk daily and I sell the rest.” She has also been able to sell meat from the male calves. The income gained from the project has enabled her to send her children to school, buy food and clothing for her family. She has also developed a small plot of land on which she grows maize, bananas and beans. She uses cow manure to fertilise the soil, and this has resulted in an increased crop yield.
Venencia Vhurandi (36) another beneficiary said: “This scheme has changed my life. When I lost my husband I felt hopeless. But the project has enabled me to fend for my family. I can see a significant difference in terms of my household’s wealth and self-esteem.” The cow she received has already given two female calves, the first born was passed on, and one male calf. “I have managed to pay school fees for my two sons and have also bought some household furniture, including a radio, a television set, and a satellite dish. I am now enjoying life just like people in the urban areas,” she said.
Integrated
Fambisai Nyakudya, from the Ministry of Agriculture (Livestock), who is also part of the coordination team, said the project did not stop at providing farmers with livestock, but also worked on many levels as part of an integrated agricultural system.
“The cows produce milk which is a source of nutrition for the family as well as income from the sale of surplus milk. The cows also generate organic manure used to fertilise and rehabilitate depleted soil,” he said.
Nyakudya added: “This project is unique. Starting with one cow per participant, the scheme provides an answer to the problems of nutrition, income generation, land fertility and crop yield improvement.”
Considered to be an economic asset, as well as a symbol of wealth and social status, the cows have become an important element of the households and livelihoods of the small-scale farmers in Gombakomba.
Post published in: Gender Equality