ZILA Programme Backs Climate-Smart Livestock For Smallholder Farmers
Just after sunrise in Chivi, Masvingo, cattle graze on thinning pastures while their owner, a smallholder farmer, scans the sky for rain that may not come. For years, families like his have watched droughts, dry spells and new livestock diseases eat away at their herds and incomes. A new programme backed by Government and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is promising to change that story.
The USD34 million Zimbabwe Innovative Livestock Adaptation (ZILA) Programme is being rolled out to strengthen the resilience, productivity and incomes of smallholder livestock farmers. It is one of the most focused efforts yet to build a climate-smart livestock sector that can withstand shocks and still sustain rural livelihoods.
Initially, ZILA will concentrate work in Manicaland, Mashonaland East, Midlands and Masvingo provinces, with the prospect of scaling successful approaches to the rest of the country.
What Is The ZILA Programme Trying To Fix?
ZILA is designed for the realities that Zimbabwean farmers know too well: erratic rainfall, frequent droughts, degraded rangelands, and animal diseases that strike when herds are already weak.
Government and IFAD say the programme will support a wide range of interventions in the livestock sector, including:
- Climate-smart livestock production – promoting husbandry practices and systems that cope better with heat, drought and feed shortages;
- Rangeland and water management – improving communal grazing areas and water points so animals have more reliable access to feed and water;
- Animal health – strengthening disease prevention, surveillance and response;
- Genetics and breeding – supporting more productive and climate-tolerant breeds;
- Feed and fodder – boosting the availability and quality of feed throughout the year;
- Markets, finance and insurance – improving access to buyers, credit and risk protection;
- Livelihood diversification – helping households build income streams beyond a single herd or enterprise.
FFA Explainer:
Climate-smart livestock production involves practices that maintain or increase production while adapting to climate change and, where possible, reducing emissions. Examples include drought-tolerant fodder crops, rotational grazing, water harvesting, and early disease detection systems.
The programme aligns with Government’s National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1), which calls for higher agricultural productivity, climate resilience and stronger rural incomes, and with global goals under the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
Why Focus On Manicaland, Mash East, Midlands And Masvingo?
Manicaland, Mashonaland East, Midlands and Masvingo host a large share of Zimbabwe’s smallholder livestock keepers, from communal cattle herds in Gokwe to goats and sheep in Buhera and Bikita. These areas have been hit hard by droughts, dry spells and disease outbreaks, yet they also hold strong potential for beef, dairy, goats and poultry.
By concentrating resources in these four provinces at the start, ZILA can test what works, refine tools, and then expand successful approaches to other livestock-growing regions. The programme’s design anticipates nationwide reach once core models have been proven.
In Wedza district in Mashonaland East, for example, communal farmers have struggled in recent years with shrinking grazing lands and drying community dams. Programmes that improve rangeland management, water harvesting and forage production could immediately ease pressure on herds and household budgets there.
Improved fodder production and smarter grazing plans have already shown promise in parts of Zimbabwe, helping herds come through long dry seasons in better condition.
Early Warning, Early Action: From Forecast To Farmer
A core pillar of ZILA is the Early Warning, Early Action approach. Rather than reacting late to droughts or disease outbreaks, the programme aims to act on early signals and reduce losses before they spiral.
FFA Explainer:
Early Warning, Early Action means using weather forecasts, climate data and local observations to predict threats to livestock, then triggering practical measures before disaster strikes. That can include pre-positioning vaccines, organising emergency fodder, or encouraging farmers to destock in time.
Under ZILA, early warning systems are expected to feed into practical actions at community level: targeted vaccination campaigns, advisory messages on grazing and water use, and links to finance or insurance products when conditions worsen.
The goal is simple but ambitious: a livestock sector that can absorb shocks – drought, heat, disease – without pushing families into distress livestock sales or deep poverty.
Stronger Animals, Stronger Incomes
For smallholder farmers, the value of ZILA will be measured in very concrete terms: fewer animal deaths, better calving rates, improved milk yields, more reliable sales and higher incomes.
By supporting better genetics and breeding, the programme seeks to build herds that can perform well under hotter, drier conditions. Combining this with improved feed and fodder systems – such as legume fodder banks or conserved hay – can stabilise production across seasons.
Better animal health services and stronger surveillance should mean faster responses to outbreaks, shortening recovery times for affected communities. Linking these services to improved markets and rural finance is meant to ensure that healthier animals and higher productivity translate into real cash for households.
Women and youth, who are often heavily involved in small livestock such as goats and poultry, stand to gain from improved access to veterinary advice, feed systems, and market opportunities. In many parts of Masvingo and Manicaland, women already manage household herds and goat flocks; targeted support can turn these roles into more secure incomes.
Goat and small livestock value chains are especially suited to climate-stressed environments and can thrive when backed by good breeding and disease control.
Linking Farmers To Markets, Finance And Insurance
Livestock resilience is not only about surviving drought; it is about having reliable markets and financial tools when the rains return. ZILA aims to improve market access, rural finance and livestock insurance options for smallholders.
Better market linkages can help farmers in Midlands and Masvingo, for instance, secure fairer prices for their animals and animal products, reducing the need to sell at a loss in periods of distress. Access to tailored credit and savings products allows households to invest in feed, water infrastructure and animal health before problems arise.
Livestock insurance – when designed well and priced fairly – can offer a safety net when extreme events wipe out herds. The ZILA Programme’s focus on insurance recognises that climate shocks are now frequent enough that traditional coping strategies are no longer sufficient.
Stronger integration between early warning systems and these financial tools should enable a more proactive approach, where support flows before animals are lost.
A Step Towards Resilient Livestock Under NDS1 And Agenda 2063
The ZILA Programme speaks directly to Zimbabwe’s NDS1 targets on food and nutrition security, climate resilience and rural development. A productive, climate-resilient livestock sector underpins national goals on growth, export earnings and rural jobs.
At continental and global level, the initiative sits within the African Union’s Agenda 2063 vision of prosperous, inclusive rural economies, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals on zero hunger, no poverty and climate action.
IFAD’s support to Zimbabwe over the years has increasingly emphasised resilience and adaptation, and ZILA is another step in that direction. By focusing on smallholder livestock, it targets households who often have fewer safety nets but play a crucial role in local food systems.
For farmers in places like Buhera, Gokwe South or Chiredzi, the real test will be felt in the coming seasons: fewer drought-related cattle deaths, better-managed grazing lands, more predictable market opportunities, and incomes that can survive a failed rainy season.
Building resilience. Protecting livelihoods. Strengthening livestock. Those are the promises written into the ZILA Programme. For smallholder farmers watching the clouds and counting their animals, they are also the foundations of a more secure future.
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