The possibility of using irrigated pastures for the rehabilitation of denuded grazing areas in the Rhodesian lowveld

Abstract

Some 3.5 million acres of dry savannah in Southern Matabeleland are in an advanced stage of deterioration. The major agricultural economy at present is livestock production based on unrestricted and uncontrolled utilization of the natural sweetveld of which the area is composed. The thesis is offered that the irrigable land of the area should be utilized for artificial pastures on which the entire cattle population of the region might be supported during the growing season, so enabling use of the natural veld to be restricted to the dry, i.e. dormant, season only. Such utilization will result in the most rapid and complete rehabilitation of the veld and would constitute the most stable and economic system of land-use for the area.

Keywords: Savanna Biome|dormant seasons|veld|growing seasons|cattle|sweetveld|production|land uses|livestock farming|Southern Matabeleland|lowveld|Rhodesia|grazing areas|rehabilitations|pastures|irrigated farmlands|agricultural economies|deteriorated areas