Elephants trample Zimbabwe's precious crops

http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/

By Tom Parry on Mar 3, 09 07:13 PM in Zimbabwe

Mbire in Zimbabwe's fertile Zambezi valley is a classic example of how looks can be deceiving.

To visitors it might appear idyllic in its lush emerald setting. Surely the kind of place where anything grows as soon as you put it in the ground?

Not so. Mbire - home to more than 100,000 - is currently contending with not only the twin tragedies of hunger and cholera stalking rural Zimbabwe, but also herds of hungry marauding elephants.

This film sent by Oxfam's Caroline Gluck explains how Africa's magnificent wildlife sometimes adds to the misery of those suffering the most.

Resident Evelyn Chikwamba, 35 (already past average life expectancy for a woman in Zimbabwe), told her. "One of my fields has already been destroyed - eaten by elephants.

"We'd put wire around the village; but one elephant came into the field and we couldn't scare it away from the sorghum. It loved the sweet taste. The greatest part of my field has been destroyed."

Evelyn's not alone. Around 40% of the community, which lies close to Chiwore National Park, have had crops wiped out by the hungry animals.

"The destruction of crops by wild animals like elephants and buffalo is a big problem," said Koni Dhoro, chairman of Mbire district council.

"On average, this ward loses two people a year who are killed by these wild animals, while they're trying to protect their fields."

Villagers have resorted to a number of tactics to try to scare the beasts away - from lighting fires around their fields to beating drums.

It's a huge worry for them as they survey their fields, which are almost ready for harvest.

Across Zimbabwe - once the bread basket of Africa - around seven million people are now relying on food hand outs.

Elephants have been doing this ever since Africans began farming 20,000 years ago. Why should they change now?

465H&H