Matabeleland North province, in the north-western part of Zimbabwe has abundant wildlife, including some predators such as lions, hyenas and leopards. Smallholder farmers in the area have been losing their domestic animals to these predators until the introduction of movable enclosures for livestock, known as Bomas was initiated.
The Boma system entails rounding up cattle in a specially designed enclosure at night. Hlomani Dingaan (55), the Masikili Village Head says since the community adopted the Boma system, there has been a significant reduction in predator attacks bringing relief to the smallholder farmers.
“The Boma sheets are designed in a way that when properly constructed, the predators will not be able to see the livestock. When we were using the traditional kraals, predators could easily see the cattle and attack them. When we use the Boma, predators cannot attack because they cannot see the animals,” says Hlomani.
Hlomani says that the Boma system also entails several households bringing their cattle together and taking turns to guard the animals during the night. This extra precaution ensures more security. “Predators like lions and hyenas are afraid of humans. By bringing several households together, we can sleep safely at night when we are not on duty, knowing that our cattle are safe,” says Hlomani.
Donald Sibanda (56), a smallholder farmer and cattle herder from Masikili community hails the Boma system and says that it has greatly enhanced the food and income security of the Masikili community.
“We used to have very few cattle because our cattle were always attacked by wild animals. After we adopted the Boma system, we now have more cattle. We no longer lose cattle to predators,” says Donald.
Sibanda explains that the Boma makes it easy to protect cattle and the community no longer uses destructive methods such as poisoning wild animals or cutting down trees.
“We use plastic horns (vuvuzelas) and shamboks to make noise. This deters wild animals from attacking,” says Donald.
Another smallholder farmer and cattle herder, Chiffin Dube says before adopting the Boma system, he lost some cattle to predators. “At one time I lost two cattle to hyenas. This has since changed for the better after we adopted the Boma system,” says Chiffin.
Chiffin’s main concern was that although the struggle to protect cattle from predators was won, the same cattle are now dying due to diseases.
“We now have high rates of infections and disease outbreaks which is now threatening our livestock and reversing the benefits from the Boma system,” says Chiffin.
Chiffin says the community needs the support of relevant stakeholders in dealing with this emerging threat.
“We need support from local authorities and government,” says Chiffin.