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August 2009 vol 4, National News

Farming reviving in Zimbabwe, but still risky

By Staff reporter and agencies   Fri, Aug 14, 2009

Zimbabwean farmers who were kicked off their farms years ago by the Mugabe regime are starting to get back into food production, by leasing their old farms back.

Richard Musgrave, a cattle producer from Bulawayo, says things have settled down enough to try farming again, but the challenges are still many.

He says foot and mouth disease is rife, vets are almost non-existent and it's a constant battle to protect livestock from hungry poachers.

"Generally you have armed rangers," he says.

"The poaching right now is bad, because of the economy, but you learn to handle it. It's a way of life there.

"The guards themselves are the ones probably in the most danger, but they learn to live with it, and you learn to build that in your costs."

By Staff reporter and agencies

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