By Daniel Itai.
Cafu, Angola. (News of The South) The Veterinary Services of Cunene province, yesterday revealed that 72 473 heads of cattle died between April and December this year in Cunene due to water and pasture shortages resulting from the drought that struck the region.
Most of the cattle died from lack of water and pasture, as well as from poor animal health and opportunistic diseases.
Estevao Camalanga, who is the head of the Veterinary Services of Cunene province, said some farmers and their herds of cattle who had left Cunene were already returning to their home areas since November, when it started to rain in the province.
“Some breeders are returning with their livestock to their areas of origin as rain has started to fall in the province of Cunene,” said Camalanga.
Last month the Angolan government announced that it will begin the construction of a water catchment in Cunene River.
The dam will have a pumping station of 2 000 cubic metres per second, a 57 km pipeline and 10 water boreholes, which is to benefit more than 80 000 people and 182 000 heads of cattle.
The Cunene drought is a cyclic phenomenon that started in 1995, since then, after every five years the province faces breaks on the raining season, alternating with periods of floods.
This drought is the most devastating one in the last 24 year period for the province.
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