SMALL-SCALE cattle farmers in Mpumalanga got a boost on Monday with the launch of a programme to combat soil erosion and degradation in communal grazing areas the province’s Lowveld region. The programme has targeted an initial 9170 hectares used by 42 subsistence farmers in the Mawewe tribal trust for improved soil conservation management. The project has been granted an initial R500000 budget as part of the province’s broader Land Care initiative and is designed to bolster similar projects with sugar cane and other farmers. Departmental spokesman, Mandla Mathebula, said on Monday that farmers would be taught to prevent erosion through better management of grazing and by building water flow reduction structures.