0 comments
Leave your comments

Environment: Ngorongoro cattle killed by drought

According to estimates by local government officers over 100,000 cattle out of a total of about 380,00 had died by the end of November 2009 in the Ngorongoro region as a result of the prolonged drought. The heavy rains that started just before Christmas and which left many homeless in other parts of the country at the beginning of January are now killing off cattle too weak and malnourished to survive the downpours.

About 30,000 cattle were also sold off at very low prices in order to dispose of them before they died. The government’s new policy in the Ngorongoro area was also to kill off weak cattle when possible and distribute the meat to families that had been badly hit by the drought.

There are 170,000 people living in the affected area and both the state and the archdiocese of Arusha are now providing relief food. Most of the inhabitants are nomadic Maasai cattle herders.

According to the Arusha Times, the drought has seriously affected crops; grain production in the area was down by two thirds in 2009 compared with 2008 levels, while cassava production was down from over 4,000 tons in 2008 to 600 tons in 2009. Production of bananas, another staple crop, decreased from 2,000 tons to just over 200 tons.

back