Author: livestockmatters

Livestock Matters Zimbabwe is a website about farmers and their livestock in post land reform Zimbabwe. Our basic aim is to educate and inform people running livestock projects. We seek to provide insights and reflection based on our authors' many years of training and hands-on experience in livestock management and extension. Profitability at individual level and sustainable food security at national level are our guiding principles. We are in this together.
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Editorial

What’s eating into farmers’ margins? A ZATT perspective.

Taruvinga Magwiroto One of the important aftermaths of the land reform has been the emergence of a new class of farmers, popularly known as “new farmers”, who come from all sections of Zimbabwean society, but often with no prior experience or training in agriculture. Ian Scoones (2014) has argued that since new farmers tend to be younger, ambitious and better connected to urban centres with … Continue reading What’s eating into farmers’ margins? A ZATT perspective.

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Husbandry and Management

Reflections from the CFU Congress: Resilience, Residual influence, Renewal?

Taruvinga Magwiroto Attending the public session of the Commercial Farmers Union Annual General Meeting on 29 September this year, my first impression was that this is an organisation in decline. Battered and bruised by jambanja, membership depleted by migration and natural attrition, it is fact that CFU has literally shriveled, both in terms of membership and in terms of influence. But it is testament to … Continue reading Reflections from the CFU Congress: Resilience, Residual influence, Renewal?

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Editorial

Towards 2023 Series 3: Leadership

Taruvinga Magwiroto If life is a journey, then leadership is the most crucial variable in that journey. The influence of leadership in that journey is pervasive: leaders determine the destination, direction and the route of the journey. In the previous instalment, I introduced the ‘God’ metaphor. I said that when we are looking for political leaders, we are looking for God. This is the character … Continue reading Towards 2023 Series 3: Leadership

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Agribusiness

Beef School 2022: Where ideas, relationships and organisation meet

Taruvinga Magwiroto, recently in Bulawayo “And a million P.D’s later, Japie Jackson is still standing, ready for one more P.D… never losing the threads of a story that started almost 100 years back in the frontier town of Masvingo.” Cue to the legendary Dr. Japie Jackson reaching for a tissue. And no wonder: John Crawford’s speech was a powerful mix of appreciation, humour and story-telling … Continue reading Beef School 2022: Where ideas, relationships and organisation meet

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Editorial, Reflection

Towards 2023 2: People’s Aspirations

Taruvinga Magwiroto In this second instalment, I analyse the concept of people’s aspirations as the foundational driver of a national renewal process. But first, I want to frame the context in which people’s aspirations find expression. People’s aspirations find expression in developmental situations, defined as a situation in which people sharing a common environment are engaged in ongoing interactions to define and shape the trajectory … Continue reading Towards 2023 2: People’s Aspirations

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Reflection

Retreat to Vic Falls 2: Meeting Allan Savory

Taruvinga Magwiroto Sunday evening, Allan and Jody came by to say hello. That was my first time ever to meet the Savory’s, and I was stuck by their comfortable camaraderie (Allan introduced Jody as his Minister of Finance!), their pared-down deportment, the smooth hospitality. But there was a little stiffness too: we hardly knew each other. Nobody knew exactly how to behave. Do we fist … Continue reading Retreat to Vic Falls 2: Meeting Allan Savory

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Editorial, Reflection

Towards 2023: Series 1: What’s at stake?

Taruvinga Magwiroto Today I woke up with the rising sun, savoring each caressing ray of light on my skin, awed at the amazing powers of Mother Nature to command the seasons. Across the paddock, wild nature echoed my spirit – the bouncy exuberant chirping of birds darting around the technicolour explosion of tender msasa foliage heralds the dawn of yet another spring. Another year, another … Continue reading Towards 2023: Series 1: What’s at stake?

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Editorial, Reflection

Retreat to Vic Falls: The Journey (Part 1)

Taruvinga Magwiroto At around 8 am we pick up the last member of the quartet that make up our travelling party. I am relieved that the contingent is finally complete without so much as a hitch and we can focus on the journey.  An odd, fascinating bunch we are – the four of us. Let me introduce you. On the wheel there sits Alan York: … Continue reading Retreat to Vic Falls: The Journey (Part 1)

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Editorial

Sanctionsland: Time to bury Pride on the Altar of Magnanimity

Taruvinga Magwiroto One of the most polarising issues in Zimbabwean agriculture today is ZIDERA, the US law that spells sanctions against Zimbabwe. The existence, magnitude and impact of the sanctions has been so hotly contested that real truth around sanctions lies deeply buried in the debris of spin. The purpose of this article is to try to resurrect the real issues from the debris of … Continue reading Sanctionsland: Time to bury Pride on the Altar of Magnanimity

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Editorial

Land owners and farmers: who is who?

Taruvinga Magwiroto I’ve heard it said, several times since I started interacting with the grassroots, that “the tragedy in post land reform Zimbabwe is that the bulk of the people on the land today are not farmers”. I believe this is an assertion worth interrogating. How do we define a farmer? I’ve been grappling with this question for a long time, yet I’m not near … Continue reading Land owners and farmers: who is who?

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