29. The possibility of adverse environmental impact following livestock development in the Zambezi Valley could be reduced substantially if due care and attention is given to livestock development planning and appropriate policies are implemented. But if they are to be effective, interventions must be planned with a thorough understanding of the role of livestock in the peasant farming system and the dynamics of traditional herds.
30. By comparison with the commercial cattle sector, the traditional livestock sector in Zimbabwe has received little study (for example see ILCA, 1986). The most relevant reports published to date include those by Danckwerts (n.d.), Sandford (1982), GFA (1987) and Cousins (1987 and 1988a). Cousins (1988b) of the University of Zimbabwe's Centre for Applied Social Studies (CASS) has reviewed literature on socio-economic aspects of communal livestock production in Zimbabwe, also the subject of a recent GTZ-funded workshop organized by CASS (Masvingo, September 1988) which included significant contributions from a range of University and Government departments.
31. Zimbabwe is gradually developing a more sound knowledge base upon which to evaluate interventions in traditional livestock production, a base that should be fully exploited but which needs to be developed further. Coordination of livestock development planning could be usefully strengthened at a national level, and specifically in relation to the areas such as Omay, Kanyati and the mid-Zambezi Valley where tsetse eradication accompanies agro-pastoral development.
