Two previous Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreaks, one in 2013 and another in 2022, left Ms Rebecca Dube of Jackalas No. 1 devastated and almost pushed her back into poverty.
She had started to record some steady growth in her cattle farming venture, but the depopulation of Zone 6b that followed both outbreaks set her back many steps.
The confirmation of the current wave of FMD in the area brought to the surface unpleasant memories, dimming a light in her soul that had begun to shine ever-so-brightly. The 63-year-old Ms Dube did not want to yet again relive her two previous experiences. Fear and despondency set in, and the light in her threatened to flicker out.
The announcement that followed that this time around the area would not be depopulated jolted her back to life, instantly taking off her shoulders the heavy load that was weighing her down just moments earlier.
“I am elated because this time around I am not going to lose my cattle,” Ms Dube said in an interview, explaining that losing the high quality breed of cattle that she had received during the 2022 re-stocking exercise would send her to an early grave.
The fact that her cows will be calving for the first time since she received them would have made losing them a truly heart-wrenching experience.
But she is happy that a decision has been taken to vaccinate cattle in Zone 6b and not to depopulate the area like it has been done before.
This decision has encouraged Ms Dube to hold on to cattle farming; an undertaking that has already started paying off handsomely, in the process allowing her to improve her life.
Ms Dube, whose love for cattle rearing starting at childhood, has so far used proceeds from cattle sales to buy a vehicle and to adequately provide for her family.
The journey of keeping cattle commenced in earnest in 2008 when she started raising funds through selling firewood and through weeding ploughing fields at a fee. She would save part of the income and buy one cow at a time.
Ms Dube was now on course to realise her dream of using cattle rearing as a ladder to sustainable wealth creation.
“I love cattle because to the ordinary Motswana they represent a bank. The Setswana proverb that says Ka e tlhoka ka tlhoka boroko, ka e rua le gone ka bo tlhoka signififies how valuable cattle are to a person like myself,” she said.
The drive to raise money for buying cattle continued and along the way it paid dividend as she managed to collect P3 500 to purchase her first cow.
Ms Dube looks back with pride to the time she bought her first cow.
“After buying that cow, which then gave me a calf, I continued selling firewood and soon managed to buy another cow.”
“It was a dream come true for me,” she stated.
The two cows became a huge motivation for Ms Dube to keep going and she has not looked back since in spite of the re-occurrence of FMD in Zone 6b.
Principal technical officer at the Department of Veterinary Services Mr Millan James confirmed in an interview that Zone 6b will not be depopulated but cattle will instead be vaccinated to avoid subjecting farmers to the distress they had gone through with the previous outbreaks.
Surveillance and vaccination will continue for some time, and could result in the area being declared a Red Zone, similar to Okavango and Chobe regions.
The move has given farmers the much-needed reprieve and Ms Dube could not be happier.
