Rains ignite optimism in Kezi

By Innocent Mgutshini

Kezi residents are expecting a better harvest this year as a result of the good rains received in the area after a dry spell spanning three solid years.

Senzele Ndlovu, a resident epitomized the mood of the community as he projected a bright picture of good livestock quality, teeming water sources and food security for the area.

“The rains will ensure good quality vegetation for our livestock, hence an improvement on the marketability of our livestock. Moreover, our dams will store enough water for the whole year. As residents we will rely less on food aid and keep malnutrition at bay,” he said.

Brighton Sibanda, a young farmer concurred with Ndlovu and added that the Kezi community will benefit from indigenous food which he asserted as healthy food.

“The rain helped us a lot as a community and therefore we expect a bumper harvest. It is a huge, welcome respite for us after enduring three years of drought. Unfortunately, we lost a lot of cattle due to the devastating effects of the three-year drought. Our indigenous fruits and vegetables are thriving and this means a healthy community because our indigenous food is known to be nutritious,” he said.

The youthful Sibanda recounted how several wells and boreholes dried up leading people to resort to dams whose water volumes were also wanning. According to Sibanda, the Government’s input scheme went a long way in complementing the good rains. He hailed the government for the timely intervention.

“We applaud the government for timeously availing inputs that were subsidised to below market costs, thereby making them affordable to the community. As a result, we are positive that our productivity will receive a shot in the arm from this intervention.” 

Ms Sinikiwe Moyo, the Councillor for Ward 14 of Matobo, while celebrating the rains and restoration of wetlands warned that too much of the rain could prove to be counterproductive as it might lead to water logging and the proliferation of diseases in animals. 

“We had functional wetlands as well in our area sometime back but due to the drought they had gone dry. Owing to the rains, our wetlands have been replenished and restored. Water is life and we thank God. However, too much rains might bring about water logging and animal diseases. We may need to call upon our Veterinary department services to contain the animal diseases ,” she said.