Maravi

(HERALD) Council cattle destroy maize crop

Council cattle destroy maize crop
Herald Reporter

GLEN VIEW and Budiriro residents are up in arms against Harare City Council after its cattle herders last week released hundreds of cattle into their maize fields destroying the flourishing knee-high crop.

The residents feel the action by council is contrary to the spirit of urban farming. This, the residents felt, was an action in bad faith as the city has publicly declared support for urban farming.

A number of urban families supplement their low salaries by growing their own food with others having the luxury of selling the surplus.

Residents confirmed that the cattle grazed on their maize for nearly three hours before they were eventually driven away by the field owners. Government supports urban farming because it contributes to national food security. In separate interviews, residents said the spirit of urban farming should guide the city.

They accused the city of insensitivity to the plight of the residents who invested time in tilling the land and money to buy inputs.

"They must be humane and sensitive to our plight. We take this farming as a business regardless of the size of the land.

"This is the only way we can survive and I do not know how I am going to recover my inputs," said Mrs Evelyn Kumbire, whose whole field was grazed.

The residents suggested the city should improve security on its farms by fencing them and should advise its cattle herders to desist from driving the cattle on to their fields.

Perimeter fences on most city farms have been vandalised and cattle are seen grazing beyond farm boundaries. Council has been on record warning residents it will not hesitate to destroy crops planted on unauthorised land.

A council official yesterday said they would not tolerate actions compromising relations with ratepayers but was quick to say haphazard self-allocation of land by residents, which results in them cultivating along streambanks and areas not designated for that purpose was the biggest challenge facing most local authorities.

"We understand the importance of urban farming but we have our own by-laws as council which makes it illegal for anyone to grow crops in undesignated open spaces. Everyone has the right to apply for the plots or pieces of land," said the official.

Residents insisted they had been farming on the pieces of land for more than six years.

They alleged the city takes long to approve their applications for farming land.

"This is negligence on the part of council workers," said Regis Nyamayaro, adding that he opted for urban agriculture as it required little investment in terms of inputs.

In 2007 council workers deliberately allowed 300 cattle to graze on four hectares of maize in Kuwadzana. This was after the council gave short notice to the residents that they were growing crops on unauthorised land.

Labels: FOOD, HARARE CITY COUNCIL

posted by MrK @ 8:47 AM